After more than a decade, Ethiopia has completed the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a controversial dam with the potential to transform the hydrology and politics of the Nile Basin. The GERD is the culmination of a dam building boom carried out over three decades and a key pillar of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) efforts to bring about an Ethiopian ‘Renaissance’. This book provides the first detailed examination of the domestic and international political dynamics that shaped Ethiopia’s dam building, drawing on extensive primary research including more than a hundred interviews with politicians, technocrats, consultants, and donors. In doing so, the book reflects on Ethiopia’s implications for broader debates about the role of the state in late development, the dynamics of 21st century dam building, and the political economy of renewable energy transitions.

The book is available in open access at:
global.oup.com/academic/product/dams-power-and-the-politics-of-ethiopias-renaissance-9780192871213