When Nations Can't Default

'War reparations are often viewed solely through the lenses of German reparations following World War I. Simon Hinrichsen's carefully researched book shows that war reparations are not only common but that the German experience in terms of repayment is more the exception than the rule. By framing the reparations issue in the sovereign debt literature, the book offers new insights into the political and economic aspects of war reparations.' Kim Oosterlinck, Professor of Finance, Université libre de Bruxelles 'War reparations has been a topic of considerable contemporary debate given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Yet, much of the discussion has been remarkably bereft of an understanding of how these issues were tackled in the past. This book is a wonderful treatment of the history, economics and politics of war reparations and, hopefully, will result in the contemporary debates becoming more sophisticated. I teach classes on Reparations and Sovereign Debt and this book has already, even in draft form, proved to be an invaluable resource.' Mitu Gulati, Professor of Law, University of Virginia 'In this insightful book, Hinrichsen analyses how and, more importantly, why war reparations have been paid, restructured, repudiated or simply ignored over the last two centuries. War reparations are unlike all other types of sovereign debt. If wars of aggression were exclusively a feature of earlier centuries, Simon Hinrichsen's book would be a fascinating study of how the monetary reparations payable to the victors in those conflicts were eventually handled. But as Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 demonstrates, unprovoked aggression is not confined to earlier centuries and the international community may soon need to grapple, yet again, with the issue of war reparations.' Lee C. Buchheit, University of Edinburgh