Collaborative Research: International Coercion, Debt Relief, and Land Transactions

National Science Foundation Abstract Proposal: 2048406/2048416 PI Name: Shea, Patrick/Bunte, Jonas Proposal ID: 2048406/2048416 Institution: University of Houston/University of Texas at Dallas Principal Investigator: Patrick Shea/Jonas Bunte NSF Program: Security and Preparedness Title: Collaborative Research: International Coercion, Debt Relief, and Land Transactions

This project will determine when governments transfer control over portions of their national territory to pay off loan debts to international creditors. The project will provide systematic evidence on the domestic and international conditions that influence the decisions of governments to exchange land for debt relief. The empirical analyses in the project will be based on a new dataset to be collected on all land transactions between countries related to debt relief.

The results of this project will contribute to improving our understanding of when the international debt problems of countries can lead them to make territorial concessions to other countries.

The project will develop and test theory on the different debt relief strategies that governments can choose to adopt and why land transactions are sometimes selected instead of other available policies such as austerity or default. A new and more comprehensive dataset on land transactions for debt relief will be collected for the period 2000 to 2020.

Statistical analyses of the new data set, employing simultaneous equations, will be conducted to test theoretical propositions. The results of the project will advance basic research on the management of international debt, the use of economic leverage by states to gain concession from states on security issues, and the dynamics of international negotiations over territorial concessions.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.