Deval joined Edinburgh Law School in 2020 as Lecturer in International Economic Law. His work focuses on law and development, administrative law and regulation, theories of the state, and (de)colonial patterns of knowledge and authority. He has taught on these topics on the European Joint Doctorate in Law and Development; the interdisciplinary masters programs at the Graduate Institute, Geneva; Harvard’s Institute for Global Law and Policy; and as a visiting professor at Manchester, Northeastern Law School, SOAS, and the Universidad de los Andes.
Deval previously held research positions at Harvard Law School and the Graduate Institute — where he helped establish and coordinate the Global Scholars’ Academy, to support collaboration and mentorship among junior faculty in the Global South. Deval serves on the editorial board of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, the Emerging Scholars Forum of Global Perspectives, and previously sat on the editorial board of the Harvard International Law Journal.
His work is also informed by a decade of experience working for the World Bank on rule of law and governance in sub-Saharan Africa; as well as advising the UN on rule of law issues.
Deval Desai
