Ep 173 - Foreign Civil War Entanglements

Ep 173 - Foreign Civil War Entanglements

From Clauses & Controversies by Mitu Gulati & Mark Weidemaier

April 27, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the U.S. involvement in foreign civil wars and the implications of debt and obligations of the governments involved.

Foreign Civil War Entanglements Over the years, the U.S. has supported the losing side in numerous foreign civil wars. It has emerged from these entanglements as both a debtor and a creditor. In each case, the U.S. government's formal position has been clear: the post-civil war government succeeds to the rights and obligations of the prior government. That is, the winning side must pay debts incurred by the prior government, and it may enforce rights that accrued to that government. The U.S. has consistently taken this position even when the rights and obligations at issue relate to its attempt to keep the winning side from attaining power (e.g., debts accrued in the context of arms sales to the U.S.-supported side). But pragmatically, the U.S. government's position has been more fluid, ranging from benign neglect (i.e., simply not asserting a claim to payment) to finding technical legal arguments to justify writing off a debt (e.g., deeming the debt uncollectible). Producer: Leanna Doty

People in this episode

Hosts: Mitu Gulati, Mark Weidemaier

Topics covered

  • foreign civil wars
  • U.S. foreign policy
  • debts and obligations
  • government succession
  • arms sales
  • legal arguments

Keywords

  • foreign civil wars
  • U.S. support
  • debts
  • government rights
  • arms sales
  • legal positions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S., U.S.-supported side

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