By explaining the ermergence of the international indebtedness of the developing countries, Tarnara Kunanayakam shows how the fate of indebted countries is entangled in the economic policy of the creditor countries. This entanglement has developed via the structures of the international finance and credit markets according to the wants of the rieb countries. The desaster of the export oriented development strategy has led to a new, in the meanwhile even financial dependency from the industrial countries ofthe North. A (...) discussion of alternative strategies for solving the debt problern results in the thesis, that this crisis can only be approached politically, by promoting a development strategy that strives for social justice and that is accompanied by a democratization of political structures. (shrink)