China's green nationalism approach to transboundary water governance in South Asia and its implication for EU cooperation in riparian countries: case study of the Medog Dam and Brahmaputra River basin.

Details

Supervisors

Virgine Arantes

Faculty

Institut d'études européennes Saint-Louis

Degree label

Advanced Master in EU Environmental Governance (POLLEN)

Abstract

This dissertation examines how China's "Ecological Doctrine" doctrine shapes its hydropower development and transboundary water governance in South Asia, with the Medog hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo River as a case study. It argues that while China's green nationalism has driven in some way domestic environmental transition, it simultaneously serves as a tool for state legitimacy and strategic assertion in border regions, revealing a tension between China's global ecological governance ambitions and its unilateral practices. Supported by a literature review of academic sources and official documents, the dissertation further assesses the geopolitical implications of the Medof HPP for downstream riparian countries India and Bangladesh, before proposing strategic adjustments to EU development cooperation under the Global Gateway framework to better account for the risks posed by Chinese upstream water management.