New Books in Economic and Business History Claire Provost and Matt Kennard, "Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy" (Bloomsbury, 2023)
9 snips
Mar 2, 2026 Claire Provost, investigative journalist who tracked corporate power across 30 countries, discusses investor‑state dispute systems and the World Bank’s ICSID. She outlines how post‑colonial legal frameworks empowered multinationals, special economic zones, and examples where international claims pressured democratic policy. The conversation highlights why awareness is low and how journalism can better expose these hidden power structures.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
ICSID Created A Powerful Corporate Court
- The World Bank's ICSID created an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system that lets corporations sue countries internationally, bypassing national courts.
- Three-arbitrator tribunals often favor business interests and can force policy changes or massive awards against states.
ISDS Roots Lie In Decolonization Fears
- ISDS and related proposals emerged during decolonization as elites sought to insulate corporate power from nationalist reforms.
- Figures like Deutsche Bank's Herman Abs pitched a "corporate Magna Carta" to protect investments from changing sovereign policies.
El Salvador Case Used Suing To Shape Policy
- An El Salvador mining dispute showed a company suing to pressure policy rather than only seek money, threatening a poor country's ability to ban mining.
- The case targeted El Salvador's mining license refusal during a national clean-water movement and carried huge financial risk.
