Lower Mekong Dams: Hegemonic Globalization and the Struggle to Resist
Author
Meslaoui, Nicolas Morad
Term
4. term
Publication year
2014
Submitted on
2014-05-29
Pages
76
Abstract
Regeringer i Nedre Mekong har foreslået 12 vandkraftdæmninger på Mekongfloden. Dette studie undersøger, hvorfor anti-dæmningsaktivister kun har haft begrænset succes. Det analyserer, hvordan hegemoniske aktører—magtfulde regeringer, multinationale selskaber og internationale finansielle institutioner (IFI’er) som udviklingsbanker—former handlemulighederne for civilsamfundsorganisationer og lokalsamfund. Med en aktør-orienteret, kritisk tilgang til globalisering, forankret i kritisk international politisk økonomi og politisk økologi, undersøger studiet både synlige og skjulte magtstrukturer. Det ser også på, hvordan et globaliseret civilsamfund bruger juraen som en mod-hegemonisk strategi. I overensstemmelse med dette rammeværk ser analysen på Mekong-regeringernes interesser og deres betydning for Mekongkommissionens (Mekong River Commission) effektivitet, vurderer den Asiatiske Udviklingsbanks involvering i dæmningsindustrien og de strategier, den bruger til at fremme en markedsorienteret (neoliberal) dagsorden, samt gransker private investorers begrænsede ansvarlighed nationalt og internationalt. Resultaterne peger på, at nationale prioriteringer har skabt svage retlige og institutionelle rammer for vandforvaltning og bæredygtig udvikling. Juridiske immuniteter til private investorer og IFI’er hæmmer anti-dæmningsbevægelsen. Studiet argumenterer for, at prioritering og beskyttelse af private aktører skaber store barrierer for interessevaretagelse og for at holde ansvarlige aktører til regnskab for påståede krænkelser af menneskerettigheder og miljøskader. Det konkluderer, at store dæmninger på Mekong er farlige, og at mere bæredygtige alternativer til elproduktion kan erstatte de planlagte projekter. Mere overordnet hævdes en skævhed mellem stat–samfund–marked og miljøet, som gør vand til en vare.
Governments in the Lower Mekong have proposed 12 hydropower dams on the Mekong River. This study examines why anti-dam activists have achieved limited results. It analyzes how hegemonic actors—powerful governments, multinational companies, and international financial institutions (IFIs) such as development banks—shape the space available to civil society organizations and local communities. Using an actor-oriented, critical approach to globalization grounded in critical International Political Economy and Political Ecology, the study investigates both visible and hidden power structures. It also considers how a globalized civil society uses law as a counter-hegemonic strategy. In line with this framework, the research examines the interests of Mekong governments and how these affect the effectiveness of the Mekong River Commission, assesses the Asian Development Bank’s involvement in the dam industry and the strategies it uses to advance a market-oriented (neoliberal) agenda, and scrutinizes private investors’ limited accountability at national and international levels. The findings suggest that national priorities have produced weak legal and institutional arrangements for water management and sustainable development. Legal immunities granted to private investors and IFIs hinder anti-dam campaigns. The study argues that prioritizing and protecting private actors creates major barriers to advocacy and to holding perpetrators accountable for alleged human rights violations and environmental harm. It concludes that large dams on the Mekong are dangerous and that alternative, more sustainable ways to generate electricity could replace the planned projects. More broadly, it contends there is a mismatch between the state–society–market complex and the environment that turns water into a commodity.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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