New Books in World Affairs Lys Kulamadayil, "Pathology of Plenty: Natural Resources in International Law" (Bloomsbury 2025)
Feb 13, 2026
Lys Kulamadayil, a Swiss NSF Ambizione Fellow and PI of Law by Colour Code, explores how international law shapes resource extraction in post-colonial states. She discusses colonial continuities, financial and legal infrastructures that enable large-scale resource theft, the limits of human rights and anti-corruption frameworks, and calls for intersectoral, anti-carceral, and ecological approaches.
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Effective Control Echoes Archaic Resource Logic
- The doctrine of effective control reflects an older modernity that fetishizes resource access, especially oil.
- Kulamadayil sees contemporary interventions as a revival of archaic resource-driven logics rather than new phenomena.
Reject Crisis Talk About International Law
- Stop framing international law as 'in crisis' and instead focus on the real crises afflicting people and the planet.
- Treat crisis as a lived condition outside legal orthodoxy rather than a disciplinary emergency.
Humanitarian Law Can Enable Resource Seizure
- Usufruct in occupation law carries humanitarian intent but enables economic co-optation of resources.
- Occupying powers can entrench long-term exploitation via contracts and control framed as care for populations.
