The Political Economy of Hydropower in Southwest China and Beyond (International Political Economy Series)

✍ Scribed by Jean-François Rousseau (editor), Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla (editor)

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 309
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book conceptualises the ongoing hydropower expansion in Southwest China as a socio-political and transnational project transcending the construction of dams. Chapters in this volume are organised around three sections spanning hydropower and resettlement governance, rural livelihoods, and international relations connected to China’s hydropower expansion. Dam projects of various scales are analysed as infrastructure projects that shape peoples’ livelihoods, the environment, and China’s relations with Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Southwest China’s Hydropower Expansion and Why It Matters There and Beyond
Our Purpose
Dams as Projections of Modernity?
The Political Economy of Southwest China’s Hydropower Expansion
Hydropolitics in Southwest China
Places, People, and Red Stamps
The Sections and Chapters in This Collection
References
Part I Hydropower and Resettlement Governance
2 The Water-Energy Nexus of Southwest China’s Rapid Hydropower Development: Challenges and Trade-Offs in the Interaction Between Hydropower Generation and Utilisation
Introduction
China’s Hydropower Development
General Context
Southwest China Context
Hydropower Development in Three Key Provinces
Sichuan
Yunnan
Tibet
Utilisation of Hydroelectricity
Export of Hydroelectricity
West-to-East (W2E) Transmission (Yunnan’s Sending Perspective)
West-to-East Transmission (Guangdong’s Receiving Perspective)
West-to-East Transmission (Other Hydro-Fed UHVDC Corridors of China)
Local and Regional Utilisation of Hydroelectricity
Rural Electrification
Summary and Recommendations
References
3 Leaving the Three Gorges After Resettlement: Who Left, Why Did They Leave, and Where Did They Go?
Introduction
The Three Gorges Dam: An Important But Unique Case
Resettlement Outcomes at the Three Gorges Dam
Accounting for Non-respondents and Emigration
Unemployment
Discussion and Conclusion
References
4 Contestation Over Moral Economy: Distant Resettlement from the Three Gorges Area to the Pearl River Delta
Introduction
Legal and Policy Background of Distant Resettlement from the Three Gorges Dam Area
Resettlement Measures Undertaken by the Local Town Government
Displacement from and to Peri-Urban Spaces: Expectation and Disillusion
Remembering Displacement and Arrival
The Use and Value of Compensation Houses
The Use and Value of Compensation Land
Chen Village: The Host(ile) Village
Baicun: From Resettlement Village to Diaspora Village
Conclusion
References
5 Population Resettlement for Hydropower Development in the Lancang River Basin: An Evolving Policy Framework and Its Implications for Local People
Introduction
Hydropower Development on the Lancang River
Social Impacts of Hydropower Projects: Lessons from Early Lancang River Dams
The 16118 Policy and the Miaowei Dam Case Study
Looking to the Future
References
6 Social Stability, Migrant Subjectivities, and Citizenship in China’s Resettlement Policies
Introduction
Horses for Courses: Citizenship Practices and Subjectivities in Dam Migrant Communities
Dam(n) Migrants: Changing Rationalities and Technologies in Dam Migrant Regulation
Meili Jiayuan Jianshe: Pastoral Strategies to Create Collective Migrant Identities
Selective Privileges and Co-optation Strategies
Conclusion
References
Part II Dams and Rural Livelihoods
7 Green and Pro-Poor? Analysing Social Benefits of Small Hydropower in Yunnan, China
Introduction
Green and Pro-Poor SHP?
Field Site and Methods
Electricity Use
Fuelwood Collection and Use
Conclusion
References
8 Small Hydropower for Electricity and Modernity: Impacts on the Everyday Lives of Minority Communities in Yunnan’s Nu River Valley
Introduction
China’s Grand Canyon of the East
The Villages and Community of Dimaluo
Everyday Life in Dimaluo Prior to Electricity
Everyday Life in Dimaluo After Electrification
Unintended Consequences of Electrification on Everyday Lives
Discussion
Conclusions
References
9 As Time Goes by… Longitudinal Analysis of Dam Impacts Upon Livelihood Strategies in the Red River Valley
Introduction
Longitudinal Studies and Borderland Modernisation
Handai People and Red River Dams
Dam Impacts Through Time
The First Years
The New Normal
Connecting the Dots
Conclusion
References
Part III Transnational Matters
10 Technical and Policy Constraints on the Role of Chinese Hydropower in a Renewable Mekong Region
Introduction
Electricity Generation in Southwestern China and Mainland Southeast Asia
Balancing Variable Renewables with Hydropower
Hydropower’s Role in Enabling Wind and Solar Power in China
Going Outward: Using Yunnan Hydropower to Enable a Solar Transition in Cambodia
Conclusion
References
11 China’s Hydro-Hegemony in the Mekong Region: Room for Improvement
Introduction
The Conceptual Framework of Hydro-Hegemony
China’s Hegemonic Choice in the Mekong Region
Resource Capture Strategy
Integration Strategy
Containment Strategy
Reactions from Downstream and Beyond
Conclusion
Post-scriptum
References
12 Hydropower and Sino-Indian Hydropolitics Along the Yarlung-Tsangpo-Brahmaputra
Introduction
Chinese and Indian Hydropower Ambitions Along the YTB
YTB Hydropolitics in the Sino-Indian Political Context
The Eastern Border Dispute and Tibet
Modi’s Stance on China and Border Disputes
Sino-Indian Hydro-Diplomacy Along the YTB
Data Sharing and the Joint Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-Border Rivers
The Brahmaputra Dialogue
The Common Threat of Climate Change on Asia’s Water Towers
Discussion and Conclusion
References
13 Twenty-First-Century Chinese-African Hydropower Projects in Perspective
Introduction
Background
Enter China
African State Building, Legitimacy, and Demand for Resources
Comparative Shifts to Chinese-African Hydropower Development
Uganda: From Blended Finance to Coordinated Bilateralism
Ghana: Concessional Finance to Commoditised Loans
Ethiopia: A Developmental State by Offshore Means
An Uncertain Future: The Return of High Modernism with Chinese-African Characteristics
References
14 One River and 40+ Dams: The China Factor in the Amazonian Tapajós Waterway
Introduction
Hydropower Development in Brazil and Its Impacts on the Amazon
The China Factor and the Tapajós Hydropower-Commodities Connection
The Tapajós Waterway, Constitutional Rights, and the Security Suspension Law
Conclusion
References
Index