During the 20th century dam-building became a truly global endeavour. Built around the world, they generated networks of actors, institutions and companies embedded in globally circulating technological knowledge and discourses of modernization and development. This volume takes a global approach to the history of dams, exploring the complex power relations and internationalist entanglements that shaped them. Shedding new light on the globalization of technology and international power struggles that defined the 20th century, Dam Internationalism shows that dams are artefacts in their own right and have created new and revisionist histories that urge us to rethink classic narratives. From international cooperation, to the importance of the Cold War and the capitalist/socialist divide, the success of western technology, the prominence of the United States, the alleged impotence of people affected by dams, and the uniformity of infrastructure. Each chapter showcases a different case study from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America to show that dams enabled marginalized countries and actors to articulate themselves and pursue their own political and socio-economic goals in a century dominated by the Global North.

In 1996 the World Bank Operations Evaluation Department completed an internal review of 50 large dams funded by the World Bank. IUCN-The World Conservation Union and the World Bank agreed to jointly host a workshop in April 1997 to discuss the findings of the review and their implications for a more in-depth study. The workshop broke new ground by bringing together representatives from governments, the private sector, international financial institutions and civil society organizations to address three issues: critical advances needed in knowledge and practice, methodologies and approaches required to achieve these advances, and proposals for a follow-up process involving all stakeholders.

This collection takes a case study approach to enter into and explore spaces of 'Second-Third World' interaction during the Cold War. From the dining halls of a university, to hospital wards, construction sites, military barracks, pubs and more, the chapters drop the scale down from the global to the particular to better see, understand and interpret the complex nature of these spaces. These ordinary spaces are examined to understand how they were conceived, constructed, shaped and reshaped by people over time. Many are physical places of encounter, while others are more abstract, embodying ideological goals. In exploring these spaces the contributors show how the Second and Third World actors understood them and connected them to ideas such as gender and space, the space of the nation, of the modern and of the self. Essentially, it seeks to unravel how these spaces between Second and Third Worlds worked, and what, if anything, was distinctive and consequential about them. Second-Third World Spaces in the Cold War explores the ways in which these Second and Third World actors collaborated and clashed in these everyday spaces, and brings these multi-faceted, multi-actor histories to a vital centre ground.

Around the world, community members and their allies are advocating against the development of dams that degrade ecosystems and inflict serious social, cultural, and ecological damages. Despite extensive research on these impacts, construction has continued under the marketing of dams as "clean", "green", and "sustainable" solutions to achieve water and energy security in the context of climate change. This thesis is in part a response to these claims and reflects the experiences and knowledges of impacted community members, activists, and researchers from over 25 watersheds around the world that have begun to collaborate in a transnational advocacy network (TAN) to heal from, challenge, and even halt dam development. Over a two-year period (2019-2021), participatory action research methods were utilized - including semi-structured qualitative interviews, surveys, actions, and meetings - to capture the emergence of this network known as Dam Watch International (DWI). To illustrate the need for DWI, this thesis first explores the experiences of community members living with and fighting the injustices of dam development. It then shares the opportunities and challenges of creating a community-centred network for collaboration. Through this work, this thesis contributes further understandings of the damaging extent of dams, demonstrating that systemic and systematic injustices enable the continuation of this construction in multiple regions of the world. It also highlights that community members and allies are committed to finding justice through culturally relevant means that are centred in Indigenous and local knowledge. The insights shared here emphasize that opportunities exist for collaboration among those that continue to fight for sovereignty and justice.

Silenced Riversshows why large dams have become such a controversial technology in both industrialized and developing countries. The book explains the history and politics of dam building worldwide and shows why large dams have become so controversial. It details the ecological and human impacts of large dams, and shows how the 'national interest' argument is used to legitimize uneconomic and unjust projects which benefit elites while impoverishing tens of millions describes the technical, safety and economic problems of dam technology, the structure of the international dam-building industry, and the role played by international banks and aid agencies tells the story of the rapid growth of the international anti-dam movement, and recounts some of the most important anti-dam campaigns around the world shows how the dam lobby and governments have reacted to criticism by cosmetic 'greening' of the dam-building process, and through state repression outlines the alternatives to dams, and argues that their replacement by less destructive alternatives requires the opening up of the industry's practices to public scrutiny.