My new article, “It’s about time: On the uneven temporalities of Turkey’s first mega-dam”, is now online in the Journal of European Studies.
Built between 1966 and 1974 on the Upper Euphrates in eastern Turkey, the Keban Dam promised electricity, economic growth and a modern national future. For many villagers, however, the filling of its reservoir meant the loss of homes and livelihoods, and futures increasingly shaped by displacement.
Drawing on historical photographs, state and World Bank documents, and oral histories with engineers and technicians, I trace a history marked by delays, improvisation, dependence on foreign expertise and continuing repair. These experiences complicate the familiar story of a dam neatly dividing history into a “before” and an “after”.
The article’s central argument is that infrastructural progress unfolds unevenly. The accelerated national future celebrated by politicians can coexist with interrupted lives, prolonged uncertainty and dispossession. Attending to these different experiences of time helps us understand whose futures major infrastructure projects advance, and whose they constrain.
Dissard, L. (2026). “It’s about time: On the uneven temporalities of Turkey’s first mega-dam”. Journal of European Studies. Published online 25 September 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472441261488310.
You must be logged in to post a comment.