New Books in Political Science Claire Provost and Matt Kennard, "Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy" (Bloomsbury, 2023)
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Mar 2, 2026 Claire Provost, investigative reporter who has tracked corporate power across 30 countries, discusses her book on the rise of global corporate influence. She talks about investor-state dispute systems, ICSID’s role at the World Bank, and cases where corporations challenge state sovereignty. Short takes cover special economic zones, treaty proliferation, and why media and NGOs often miss transnational threats.
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How The ICSID System Privileges Investors
- The ICSID branch of the World Bank runs the investor-state dispute system that lets corporations sue countries internationally, bypassing national courts.
- Tribunals with three often business-friendly arbitrators can order huge awards or force policy changes, leaving states little real win.
ISDS Roots In Postcolonial Power Preservation
- The ISDS architecture emerged during decolonization as elites sought to insulate corporate power from newly independent states.
- Early advocates like Deutsche Bank's Herman Abs pitched a "new corporate Magna Carta" to protect investments from nationalist policies.
El Salvador Mining Case Used To Chill Environmental Policy
- In El Salvador a Canadian-turned-Australian mining firm sued over a refusal to grant a gold-mining license amid a major water crisis and local ban movement.
- The company used the case less for damages than to pressure policy and deter other governments from banning mining.
