Decolonizing Debt: A Critical Analysis of Neocolonial Structures in International Debt Agreements and Institutional Sovereignty in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper interrogates the persistent neocolonial structures embedded within international debt agreements and their implications for institutional sovereignty in Sub-Saharan Africa. While debt is often framed as a neutral financial instrument for development, this study argues that its architecture, enforcement mechanisms, and conditionalities reflect a continuation of colonial-era economic domination, repackaged under neoliberal frameworks. Using a critical political economy lens, the study examines how global financial institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and Western-dominated credit rating agencies exert disproportionate influence over domestic fiscal and investment policies. It highlights how debt conditionalities often undermine national priorities, disempower local institutions, and entrench dependency relationships. Through qualitative analysis of loan agreements, structural adjustment programs (SAPs), and recent debt restructuring deals, the paper uncovers recurring patterns of asymmetry, opacity, and institutional erosion. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for debt decolonization grounded in transparency, participatory governance, and financial sovereignty. The novelty of this paper lies in its introduction of a Decolonizing Debt Framework grounded in postcolonial theory and critical political economy, which reframes international debt agreements as instruments of neocolonial control rather than neutral financial tools