Economics
The Political Economy of Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanisms
Quick fact
Unlike a company, a sovereign government cannot be liquidated or forced into bankruptcy by its creditors, so restructuring comes down to a political negotiation shadowed by the threat of lost access to private capital markets and the possibility of sporadic asset seizures.
Why this is interesting
When a country runs out of money, why doesn't it just declare bankruptcy? Because there is no international bankruptcy court—yet countries still owe billions. So who decides what they pay, and how is that pressure applied?