Waterscapes of power in Bangladesh
The politics and anthropology of contested access in large‐scale irrigation modernisation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18983164 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jim Taylor (0000-0002-5461-1582, Department of Anthropology & Development Studies University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 47-73 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Australian Journal of Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1035-8811 • E-ISSN: 1757-6547 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/taja.12419 |
| OpenAlex | W4214839637 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 32 |
This paper is drawn from ethnographically informed research undertaken in 2016‒2017 pertaining to the planned modernisation of two large‐scale irrigation schemes in Bangladesh, funded by the Asian Development Bank. The research confirms existing critical irrigation anthropology on the politics and power of large‐scale irrigation modernisation and related drive to privatisation. The modernisation of the scheme aimed to increase water, energy and agricultural productivity and to include a new higher‐level irrigation management service. Irrigation, it is argued, also has considerable social consequences because it defines specific patterns of cooperation and conflict in serviced agricultural areas. The modernisation of the scheme overlooked socio‐cultural, political and ethnoecological considerations largely due to complex institutional constraints and the existing social modalities of power. In the field, using the anthropological method, information was generated in order to better understand the various stakeholder perceptions of the modernisation program and advise on practical implementations. In particular, the research noted how and in what manner dominant and influential social and political alliances control these complex waterscapes
Agriculture · Archaeology · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Modernization theory · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
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Identifying gender aspects of new irrigation management policies
Water rights, gender, and poverty alleviation. Inclusion and exclusion of women and men smallholders in public irrigation infrastructure development
Is There an Alternative for Irrigation Reform
The Global Politics of Water Grabbing
Contested water, contested development
Canal irrigation and the hydrosocial cycle
Modernity and Hybridity
The Allure of the Transnational
Hydrosocial territories
The hydrosocial cycle
Chinese Society
Size and the Structure of Authority in Canal Irrigation Systems
Politics of Nature
Water Sustainability
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |