Hydropolitics, biopower:
communication and knowledges in water management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5902/2175497796181Keywords:
Water management, Power-knowledge, Public communicationAbstract
Understanding power-knowledge dynamics in water management is essential to strengthening democratic practices. This article analyzes the hydropolitical public sphere of Bauru/SP, using a Foucauldian framework to examine how regimes of truth shape discourses about water. The research involved interviews with representatives of the public sector, civil society, and residents, as well as analysis of local television news reports. The findings reveal disputes over knowledge, socio-epistemic inequalities, and the predominance of a market-oriented view of water, which marginalizes experiential knowledge. These hierarchies affect the legitimation of practices and influence decision-making and communication processes, highlighting the role of communication in reproducing or contesting these dynamics toward a diverse and just water governance.
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