How debt always trumps democracy

From Newfoundland to Ireland, small nations have found where the priorities of great powers lie.

Have you heard the one about the small island nation that suffered a debt crisis and gave up sovereignty rather than burn its bondholders?

With the sixth anniversary of the bank guarantee tomorrow, you probably feel you’ve heard it all before. But this time, it’s different.

This is the story of Newfoundland, once independent, now a province of Canada. It’s a place of strong Irish connections: historian Tim Pat Coogan judged it the ...