Water, infrastructure and political rule: Introduction to the special issue

Autor: Julia Obertreis, Timothy Moss, Peter Mollinga, Christine Bichsel
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Water Alternatives, Vol 9, Iss 2, Pp 168-181 (2016)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1965-0175
Popis: This introductory article sets the scene for this special issue on water, infrastructure and political rule. It makes the case for revisiting the complex relationships between these three dimensions which have fascinated scholars since Wittfogel’s pioneering – if much criticised – work on causal links between large-scale irrigation systems and autocratic leadership. Scholarship on water, on infrastructure, as well as on political rule has made huge advances since Wittfogel’s days, requiring a wholesome reappraisal of their triangular relationship. In this article, we review the relevant advances in scientific knowledge and epistemological approaches on each dimension. We subsequently summarise the different ways in which each of the following papers takes up and interrogates the relationship between water, infrastructure and political rule prior to the final paper which synthesises the principal findings emerging from the special issue.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals