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Disputing the 'National Interest': The Depoliticization and Repoliticization of the Belo Monte Dam, Brazil.
- Source :
- Water (20734441); Jan2019, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p103, 1p
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- The construction of a hydroelectric project transforms the watershed in which it is located, leading to a moment of contestation in which the scheme is challenged by opposition actors. This paper explores the interplay between pro- and anti-dam coalitions contesting the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil by discussing how each group inscribes the project with a particular resonance in policy. Drawing upon the work of Chantal Mouffe on agonism and Tania Murray Li on 'rendering technical', the subsequent discussion analyzes semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and primary documents to explore how the storylines advanced by pro- and anti-dam actors contest the political character of Belo Monte. It is argued that within these storylines, Belo Monte's positioning within the 'national interest' represents a key site of the project's depoliticization and repoliticization—which are understood as the respective denial and illumination of the project's location within a wider terrain of political antagonism and conflict. Whilst pro-dam actors assert the apolitical character of the project by foregrounding it within depoliticized questions of economic benefits, anti-dam actors reground the project within a context of political corruption and the circumvention of dissent. With this paper providing evidence of how contests over dam construction are linked to the concealing and/or illumination of the project's political content, it is argued that the repoliticization of a project by a resistance movement can have consequences far beyond the immediate site of construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- DAMS
HYDROELECTRIC power plants
WATERSHEDS
DAM safety
NATIONAL interest
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20734441
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Water (20734441)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 134329773
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010103