ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates how ruling elites can exploit a large hydraulic infrastructure to propagate their own idea of the nation and gain legitimacy. It presents the Rogun Dam, providing an overview of the project and of its expected environmental and political impact. The chapter outlines and analyses the various strategies adopted by the GoT to portray the dam as a matter of national pride and as a vital achievement for Tajikistan. The Rogun Dam has been conceived as a structure with the dual purpose of storing water for irrigation purposes and of producing electricity. Tajikistan along with the other Central Asian countries is not at the forefront in the promotion and application of the general principles of accountability and good governance. While the dam is far from completion, the discursive construction put in place by the Tajik government to portray it as a national symbol seems, at present, as the most concrete element in the history of the project.
