The political ecology of hydraulic infrastructure in Kenya

Abstract

Hydropower and multi-purpose dams are experiencing a resurgence in global infrastructure planning, often framed as solutions to pressing challenges such as climate change, water insecurity, and energy demand. In Kenya, dams have re-emerged on the political agenda, with previously shelved projects being revived within broader development visions. This dissertation examines the impact of large-scale infrastructure, not only during construction but also when it exists primarily as a political promise. By analysing dam projects at different stages of their lifecycle it explores the effects of promises, expectations, and contestations around infrastructure. Conceptually, this research advances debates in the political ecology of infrastructure by integrating a temporal perspective with a focus on both material and immaterial dimensions of dam development. Drawing on political ecology, science and technology studies (STS), and critical infrastructure studies, the dissertation develops the notion of future-faking – a performative strategy in which infrastructure developers and politicians sustain visions of progress despite chronic delays, cost overruns, or failed implementation. This complements existing work on the economy of anticipation and imagined futures by showing how infrastructural promises, rather than only mobilizing public support or investment necessary for its implementation, can actively mislead affected people. Furthermore, by reviving and expanding conceptual thoughts around political arenas, this study situates infrastructure projects as contested spaces of future-making, where strategic alliances, competing claims, and power relations shape hydrosocial transformations, well before infrastructure materialises. Empirically, the research takes a longitudinal perspective and qualitative approach to the study of multiple dam projects in Kenya, using archival research, semi-structured interviews and participatory visual methods. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to a broader understanding of infrastructure as a political and temporal phenomenon, challenging dominant narratives of linear development and exposing the violence embedded in speculative infrastructure planning. At the same time, this dissertation grounds the temporal approach to infrastructure in political ecology on an analytically tangible level by linking it to the immediate effects of infrastructure politics.