The means by which sovereign debts may be collected have been hotly contested for more than two centuries. For some time, the use of force to compel repayment of sovereign debt was not uncommon. States diverged on whether the use of force in such conditions was permissible. Latin American states led the opposition to armed intervention, after European powers used force to enforce sovereign debt obligations against Mexico in the 1860s and Venezuela in 1902.

Discretionary support by creditor governments

Creditor nations have often only been lukewarm debt collectors for funds that their nationals or residents lent to other governments. At times, creditor governments could pressure debtor governments into payment or settlement by means of superior bargaining power or the use of power politics, including the use of force. For instance, a hundred years ago, several European powers successfully pressed claims of their creditor nationals diplomatically against Turkey and Venezuela. In the case of Venezuela, military intervention followed.

In lieu of direct diplomatic intervention, presentation and settlement of sovereign debt claims before mixed claims commissions were another common way of dealing with sovereign defaults. However, more often than not, these commissions declined jurisdiction, unless there was an express and specific submission of sovereign debt instruments and clear evidence that the state of nationality was ready to present the case diplomatically.