Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower

The changing notion of state territoriality highlights overlapping power structures at international, national, and local scales and reveals how states can be “differently” powerful. This article analyzes how the interplay of these power structures shapes the dynamics of natural resource management...

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Main Authors: Suhardiman, Diana, Giordano, Mark
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Informa UK Limited 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58401
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author Suhardiman, Diana
Giordano, Mark
author_browse Giordano, Mark
Suhardiman, Diana
author_facet Suhardiman, Diana
Giordano, Mark
author_sort Suhardiman, Diana
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The changing notion of state territoriality highlights overlapping power structures at international, national, and local scales and reveals how states can be “differently” powerful. This article analyzes how the interplay of these power structures shapes the dynamics of natural resource management in one of the world’s fastest changing transboundary basins, the Mekong. Taking the Lao People’s Democratic Republic as a case study, we highlight the existing inconsistency and institutional discrepancies in land, water, and environmental policy related to hydropower and illustrate how they are manifested in multiple decision-making frameworks and overlapping legal orders. The resulting legal plurality reveals the inherently contested terrain of hydropower but, more important, it illustrates how the central state has been able to use contradictory mandates and interests to further its goals. The specific Mekong hydropower case demonstrates that an understanding of power geometries and scale dynamics is crucial to meaningful application of social and environmental safeguards for sustainable dam development.More broadly, the case sheds light on the important role of states’ various agents and their multiple connections, partially explaining how the achievement of the central state’s goals can be derived from legal plurality rather than hindered by it.
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spelling CGSpace584012025-06-17T08:23:47Z Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower Suhardiman, Diana Giordano, Mark water power natural resources management territorial waters legal frameworks decision making fund private sector state intervention capacity building river basins case studies The changing notion of state territoriality highlights overlapping power structures at international, national, and local scales and reveals how states can be “differently” powerful. This article analyzes how the interplay of these power structures shapes the dynamics of natural resource management in one of the world’s fastest changing transboundary basins, the Mekong. Taking the Lao People’s Democratic Republic as a case study, we highlight the existing inconsistency and institutional discrepancies in land, water, and environmental policy related to hydropower and illustrate how they are manifested in multiple decision-making frameworks and overlapping legal orders. The resulting legal plurality reveals the inherently contested terrain of hydropower but, more important, it illustrates how the central state has been able to use contradictory mandates and interests to further its goals. The specific Mekong hydropower case demonstrates that an understanding of power geometries and scale dynamics is crucial to meaningful application of social and environmental safeguards for sustainable dam development.More broadly, the case sheds light on the important role of states’ various agents and their multiple connections, partially explaining how the achievement of the central state’s goals can be derived from legal plurality rather than hindered by it. 2014-09-03 2015-03-17T14:39:55Z 2015-03-17T14:39:55Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58401 en Limited Access Informa UK Limited Suhardiman, Diana; Giordano, M. 2014. Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 16p. (Online first). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00045608.2014.925306
spellingShingle water power
natural resources management
territorial waters
legal frameworks
decision making
fund
private sector
state intervention
capacity building
river basins
case studies
Suhardiman, Diana
Giordano, Mark
Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
title Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
title_full Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
title_fullStr Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
title_full_unstemmed Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
title_short Legal plurality: an analysis of power interplay in Mekong hydropower
title_sort legal plurality an analysis of power interplay in mekong hydropower
topic water power
natural resources management
territorial waters
legal frameworks
decision making
fund
private sector
state intervention
capacity building
river basins
case studies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58401
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