Using 50 questions and answers, this book explains in a simple but precise manner how and why the debt impasse for developing countries has been arrived at. Illustrated with figures, maps and tables, it details the roles of the various actors involved, the mesh in which indebted countries are caught, the possible scenarios for getting out of the impasse and the various alternatives to future indebtedness. It also sets out the various arguments – moral, political, economic, legal and environmental – on which the case for a wholesale cancellation of developing countries’ external debt rests. It replies to the range of possible objections and proposes new ways of financing development at both local and international level.