Rules That Move The World
International Investment Law, Communities and Sustainable Development
Research-informed advisory at the intersection of international investment law, governance design, and sustainable development.
Diana Kanyuithia
Investment Governance Reform Specialist | PhD Researcher in International Economic Law | Focused on Sustainability Integration in African Regional Contexts
Rules That Move the World is an independent platform for analysis of international investment law and governance. It explores how global economic rules shape development outcomes in practice, connecting academic research with contemporary policy debates.
The platform provides clear, evidence-based commentary on public-interest questions in international economic law and aims to contribute to informed discussion among scholars, policymakers, and other stakeholders.
All content is based on publicly available sources and peer-reviewed research and is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice.
Blog
Research Categories
I. Insights
Featured Insights
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When Harm Becomes a Dispute
Investment-related harm begins in lived experiences, loss of land, water contamination, and displacement, not in legal disputes. Yet when these harms enter formal dispute resolution, they are narrowed, relocated, and filtered through the interests of investors and states, leaving affected communities excluded and instability unresolved.… Read more…
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Consulted, But Not Heard
Once participation has legitimised the project, conflict migrates. Resistance is recast as breach. Community harm becomes investor loss. The village disappears; the tribunal takes its place. In investment arbitration, the dispute is no longer about displacement, contamination, or consent. It is about expropriation, fair and… Read more…
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Who Makes the Rules When Investment Moves?
Investment law is often described as technical, specialised, even neutral. Yet the rules that govern cross-border investment are not impartial; they reflect particular interests and priorities, protecting capital while leaving communities vulnerable to disruption. Large-scale investment reshapes governance itself: it constrains state regulation, locks in… Read more…
II. Analytical Foundations
Rules/Concepts
Core legal rules, doctrines, and analytical concepts that shape investment governance, power relations, and decision-making in international law.
Case Studies
Focused examinations of real international or local investment disputes and regulatory conflicts, illustrating how legal rules operate in practice and affect states, communities, and markets.
Legal Theories
Clear explanations of the foundational ideas, philosophical frameworks, and interpretive approaches that underpin how law is understood, applied, and critiqued in international investment and sustainable development governance.
Glossary
A concise reference guide defining key terms and technical language used across investment law, sustainability, and conflict resolution.
Featured Analytical Foundations
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10 Core Rules & Concepts In Investment Protection.
Investor‑state protections in treaties and contracts safeguard cross-border investments and manage risks. Key standards like FET, MFN, National Treatment, Umbrella Clauses, and Legitimate Expectations ensure fairness and predictability. Mechanisms such as Indirect Expropriation, Stabilisation Clauses, Police Powers Doctrine, and Denial of Justice balance investor rights with the state’s regulatory authority.… Read more…
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10 Leading Theories in African Investment Regimes
Structural critiques such as Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) and postcolonial legal theory expose colonial continuities embedded in treaty design. Legal pluralism highlights the coexistence of statutory, customary, and international norms in land governance. Regulatory governance theory, constitutionalism, and developmental state theory examine institutional design, arbitral authority, and… Read more…
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Case Studies -Treaty Power & State Authority
Investment treaties do not merely regulate economic activity; they structure political and economic power. Through cases such as Bear Creek v Peru, Cortec v Kenya, and Nachingwea v Tanzania, this analysis examines how arbitral interpretation shapes regulatory space, investor expectations, and the architecture of state autonomy. Read more…
Work
Research and Advisory
In addition to publishing analytical commentary, the platform provides research and advisory services in four interconnected areas:
These services support institutions, researchers, and policy actors seeking rigorous analysis and informed perspectives on the interaction between investment governance, regulatory frameworks, and development policy.
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