Social Construction of Three Gorges Dam

Abstract

Because of Three Gorges Dam(TGD) project’s great influences on economy, society and ecological system, its history and materiazation should be characterized in scale of politics. Firstly, Sun Yat-sen, Mao Zedong and Denxiaoping, these politician-designers early or late endowed TGD with politics of water and hydropower. Secondly, the politics of water and hydropower of TGD is manifested in interpretative flexibility on techniques, economy, and social or ecological effects, in which Lin Yishan-Li Rui debates, local governments and civil society involved. Complex choices of its developmental levels, dam sites and heights, by which the engineering frame (one-level dam with 175m height at Sandouping) was schemed finally. Thirdly, at the material construction phase, TGD has been centered on engineering problems solving, as financing, immigration and so on, whose success depends on the political organization and mobilization of the authoritative power from central government.Fourthly, upon the completion of TGD, it has been turning to the ecologically political governance at the core idea of sustainable development, for some requests from anti-dam movements using environmental protection as an excuse. Large scale projects like TGD may be considered as a social or political construction process accommodating various dissents on technological and non-technological issues. The final consequence depends on the historical stages, project sizes, economic development situations and the degree of political or social negotiation.