Abstract

The essay presents a critical review of the literature on the «debt crisis» of the 1980s. In particular, it shows how such a long and critical episode in the international political economy of the late 20th century, long interpreted in a «linear» fashion that considered the «Washington Consensus» a foregone conclusion, has come to be reinterpreted in more complex and nuanced ways after the outbreak of the 2008 global economic crisis. On this basis, the article concludes by proposing a set of research themes and approaches for a further deepening of our knowledge on the subject.