My thesis examines the relationship between international law, human rights, and industrialised agriculture from a post-colonial perspective, utilising Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL).
It contends that excesses of industrialised agriculture are enabled by a system of international law and finance developed by states of the Global North, with primacy given to their conceptions of development and sovereignty. As such, the perspectives and epistemologies of those living in post-colonial states – and in particular, minority groups within these states – are marginalised and subordinated, both by the global institutions of law and finance, but also by governments wishing to attract investment, or make use of natural resources. Violations of human rights law, environmental depredation, and food insecurity are inevitable consequences of a global legal system that prioritises economic development over all else, and, by design, gives little agency to the most vulnerable.