Dams for development? Unpacking tensions in the World Bank’s hydropower policies

Dams have been emblematic of the World Bank’s approach to development for many decades. From the bank’s early years in the 1960s and 1970s, large-scale infrastructure projects such as dams, power plants and transport networks were central to its strategy for economic growth and poverty reduction. This reflected a top-down modernisation paradigm.

But the controversial social, economic and environmental impacts of dams sparked widespread criticism. This prompted internal…

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