The Persistent Appeal of the California Agricultural Dream in North Africa
| Autor: | Kuper, Marcel, Mayaux, Pierre-Louis, Benmihoub, Ahmed |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Gestion de l'Eau, Acteurs, Usages (UMR G-EAU), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) (BRGM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-AgroParisTech-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Département Environnements et Sociétés (Cirad-ES), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Centre de recherches en économie appliquée au développement (CREAD), ANR-18-NT2S-0002,T2GS,Transformations pour une durabilité des eaux souterraines : apprentissages communs des interactions homme-eau(2018) |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2023 |
| Předmět: |
Social imaginary
politique de l'eau irrigation policies F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture Développement agricole [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society [SHS.SCIPO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Political science Morocco ambiguities Algeria F06 - Irrigation Politique agricole Irrigation |
| Zdroj: | Water alternatives Water alternatives, 2023, 16 (1), pp.39-64 Water Alternatives |
| ISSN: | 1965-0175 |
| Popis: | International audience; The development of intensive irrigated agriculture in arid California has inspired many governments and people around the world. In the paper, we show how 'California' as a social imaginary influenced North Africa's irrigation policies. We trace the influence of this imaginary at two very different and critical junctures: in Morocco under the French Protectorate from the 1930s to the 1950s and in the contemporary Algerian Sahara. We argue that the influence of the 'California' imaginary persisted because of how it appeared to be the perfect embodiment of capitalist modernity while at the same time exhibiting two crucial sociopolitical ambiguities; the first ambiguity concerned the proper role of the state and the second had to do with the California imaginary's overall implications in terms of social equity. These ambiguities enabled governing actors to naturalise and routinise this imported imaginary even as they used it to forge distinct types of political settlements that were in line with local historical circumstances. We thus argue that the notion of imaginary, inherently visual and polysemic, is usefully distinguished from alternative notions such as paradigms, narratives and frames. We also contend that imaginaries do not function independently from other social forces, but rather that they are embedded in the wider political economy. This leads us to conclude that any transformation of agricultural policies in North Africa will require the diffusion of an alternative imaginary that is as effective in forging powerful social coalitions as the Californian dream proved to be. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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