Infrastructure is far more than concrete and steel. It is a fundamental instrument of state-building and political legitimation. This panel examines how large-scale infrastructure projects – roads, railways, ports, energy grids, and digital networks – shape political development trajectories.
Infrastructure connects peripheries to centers, enables the extraction and distribution of resources, creates constituencies with stakes in state capacity, and serves as a visible symbol of state effectiveness.
The panel invites comparative studies of how infrastructure investment has influenced state formation, national integration, and political systems evolution across different historical and geographical contexts, from the transcontinental railroads of the 19th century to China's Belt and Road Initiative today.
The discussion will also address the political economy of infrastructure financing and implementation. How do different models of infrastructure development – state-led, market-driven, or public-private partnership – affect outcomes in terms of efficiency, equity, and political accountability? What are the political risks of infrastructure megaprojects, including cost overruns, corruption, environmental degradation, and social displacement? How do infrastructure projects become sites of political contestation, as seen in protests against dams, highways, and mining operations around the world?
By centering infrastructure, this panel aims to reinvigorate materialist approaches to political development while remaining sensitive to the symbolic and discursive dimensions of infrastructure politics.
Discussion questions:
What political conditions determine whether infrastructure projects contribute to inclusive development or exacerbate regional inequalities?
How do public-private partnerships in infrastructure affect political accountability and transparency?
How does infrastructure investment affect state capacity and territorial control in fragile and conflict-affected states?
What role does infrastructure play in legitimizing political regimes? How do infrastructure megaprojects become sites of social and political mobilization?
