Icesave and the Financial Crisis: Legality, Sovereignty, and Diplomacy Under International Pressure in Iceland’s 2008 Collapse

Eirikur Bergmann ()
Additional contact information
Eirikur Bergmann: Bifrost University

A chapter in Crisis in Context, 2026, pp 67-94 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The Icesave dispute involved Iceland, the UK, and the Netherlands concerning financial responsibilities following the collapse of Icelandic banks during the 2008 Credit Crunch. This conflict underscores how crises can provoke significant diplomatic and legal challenges. It highlights Iceland’s financial collapse and the pressures from larger states such as the UK and the Netherlands, which sought to enforce their interpretations of EU economic rules. The dispute illustrates the tension between financial constraints and state sovereignty. Iceland faced immense pressure from institutions like the IMF and the EU to accept responsibility for private debts. Analysing the dispute contributes to understanding how international legality is constructed and challenged during financial and diplomatic crises, revealing the vulnerabilities of smaller states amid global economic instability. The chapter emphasises crisis-driven diplomatic and legal dynamics, providing insights into how international pressure and legal contestation shape state actions during crises.

Keywords: Mass protest; Financial Crisis; Political economy; European integration; Iceland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-02657-6_5

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032026576

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-02657-6_5

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().