Private Rivers: Politics of Renewable Energy and the Rise of Water Struggles in Turkey
Abstract: Popular Abstract in English We won’t give up Anatolia! Shouting this slogan, thousands of villagers marched towards Ankara, protesting against the projects that threaten to channel Anatolian rivers into hydro-power plants. The majority of demonstrators did not reach Ankara. The police stopped them at the city gates for disturbing the public order: hydroelectricity development is a national priority for the Turkish government. The path chosen for promoting renewable energy in Turkey is to allow the private sector to lease the use rights of rivers for 49 years. But what happens to rural life and to the rights of people and nature when parts of a river system are privatized and diverted for hydroelectricity purposes? Who owns the water? Engaging with current debates about water privatization, environmental justice and land and water grabbing, this thesis explores the ‘flowing politics’ of renewable energy in Turkey.
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