The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North Africa
The development of intensive irrigated agriculture in arid California has inspired many governments and people around the world. In the paper, we show how 'California' as a social imaginary influenced North Africa’s irrigation policies. We trace the influence of this imaginary at two ver...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Water Alternatives Association
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Water Alternatives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol16/v16issue1/689-a16-1-6/file |
| _version_ | 1811158193932337152 |
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| author | Marcel Kuper Pierre-Louis Mayaux Ahmed Benmihoub |
| author_facet | Marcel Kuper Pierre-Louis Mayaux Ahmed Benmihoub |
| author_sort | Marcel Kuper |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of intensive irrigated agriculture in arid California has inspired many governments and
people around the world. In the paper, we show how 'California' as a social imaginary influenced North Africa’s
irrigation policies. We trace the influence of this imaginary at two very different and critical junctures: in Morocco
under the French Protectorate from the 1930s to the 1950s and in the contemporary Algerian Sahara. We argue
that the influence of the 'California' imaginary persisted because of how it appeared to be the perfect embodiment
of capitalist modernity while at the same time exhibiting two crucial sociopolitical ambiguities; the first ambiguity
concerned the proper role of the state and the second had to do with the California imaginary’s overall implications
in terms of social equity. These ambiguities enabled governing actors to naturalise and routinise this imported
imaginary even as they used it to forge distinct types of political settlements that were in line with local historical
circumstances. We thus argue that the notion of imaginary, inherently visual and polysemic, is usefully distinguished
from alternative notions such as paradigms, narratives and frames. We also contend that imaginaries do not
function independently from other social forces, but rather that they are embedded in the wider political economy.
This leads us to conclude that any transformation of agricultural policies in North Africa will require the diffusion of
an alternative imaginary that is as effective in forging powerful social coalitions as the Californian dream proved to
be. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:20:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-73cf60d0dc4741d1b2fb2f613cea6178 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1965-0175 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:20:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Water Alternatives Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Alternatives |
| spelling | doaj.art-73cf60d0dc4741d1b2fb2f613cea61782023-03-08T08:42:48ZengWater Alternatives AssociationWater Alternatives1965-01752023-02-011613964The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North AfricaMarcel Kuper0Pierre-Louis Mayaux1Ahmed Benmihoub2University of MontpellierUniversity of MontpellierCenter of Research in Applied Economics for Development (CREAD)The development of intensive irrigated agriculture in arid California has inspired many governments and people around the world. In the paper, we show how 'California' as a social imaginary influenced North Africa’s irrigation policies. We trace the influence of this imaginary at two very different and critical junctures: in Morocco under the French Protectorate from the 1930s to the 1950s and in the contemporary Algerian Sahara. We argue that the influence of the 'California' imaginary persisted because of how it appeared to be the perfect embodiment of capitalist modernity while at the same time exhibiting two crucial sociopolitical ambiguities; the first ambiguity concerned the proper role of the state and the second had to do with the California imaginary’s overall implications in terms of social equity. These ambiguities enabled governing actors to naturalise and routinise this imported imaginary even as they used it to forge distinct types of political settlements that were in line with local historical circumstances. We thus argue that the notion of imaginary, inherently visual and polysemic, is usefully distinguished from alternative notions such as paradigms, narratives and frames. We also contend that imaginaries do not function independently from other social forces, but rather that they are embedded in the wider political economy. This leads us to conclude that any transformation of agricultural policies in North Africa will require the diffusion of an alternative imaginary that is as effective in forging powerful social coalitions as the Californian dream proved to be.https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol16/v16issue1/689-a16-1-6/filesocial imaginaryambiguitiesirrigation policiesalgeriamorocco |
| spellingShingle | Marcel Kuper Pierre-Louis Mayaux Ahmed Benmihoub The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North Africa Water Alternatives social imaginary ambiguities irrigation policies algeria morocco |
| title | The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North Africa |
| title_full | The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North Africa |
| title_fullStr | The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North Africa |
| title_short | The persistent appeal of the California agricultural dream in North Africa |
| title_sort | persistent appeal of the california agricultural dream in north africa |
| topic | social imaginary ambiguities irrigation policies algeria morocco |
| url | https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol16/v16issue1/689-a16-1-6/file |
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