ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores the forms that the political significance can take, as well as the importance of 'storylines' in inscribing dam projects with meaning. The author explores and details the ways that both pro- and anti-dam storylines inscribe a hydroelectric project with a wider significance - be it by linking it to nationalist visions of the future, economic development, or extensive cultural impacts. Anti-dam movements across the globe do not just highlight the environmental and social impacts of a hydroelectric project. The author has explored the ways in which the planning and construction of a dam can come to hold a wider significance, as well as the vital role of storylines in inscribing the projects with such importance. In focusing on this process of contestation, the author explores how these dominant storylines are challenged by anti-dam actors in different ways that act to reconfigure pro-dam storylines of sustainability.
