The Geopolitics of Infrastructure: Development, Expertise, and Nation on the Indus Rivers

Abstract

This dissertation approaches the geopolitics of river infrastructure in the Indus Basin through the structured interaction of "hydraulic regionalism" and "technocratic developmentalism". The former occurs when regional elites feel their access to river resources are threatened by upstream infrastructure development. The latter occurs when technocratic elites underplay the geopolitics of regional vulnerability by stressing the overall integrated development of river resources to maximize utility. The dissertation interprets archival, legal, and ethnographic data regarding the negotiation and adjudication of the Indus Waters Treaty between India, Pakistan, and the World Bank, as well as the implementation of the Indus Basin Development Fund Agreement. The dissertation also analyzes upstream/downstream tension between the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. The contributions of this dissertation are in the fields of post-colonial state theory, the political ecology/economy of environmental knowledge, the geopolitics of river disputes, and Marxist methodology.