Globalisation and resource development in Africa: assessing the facilitator–protector roles of international law and international institutions

Abstract

A significant feature of globalisation in Africa is the scramble for resources, especially petroleum and solid minerals, through foreign direct investment by multinational companies. This paper explores the role of international law, which protects the investor from regulatory and political risks but offers no such protection to host communities suffering from the social and environmental impacts. The paper argues that there is no valid reason for the difference in treatment, but rather there are compelling grounds for equal protection of communities from the impacts of the operations of multinational corporations, especially as the very investment protection laws place constraints on the sovereign regulatory powers of the state.