| Questions | Protests against Irish Water Charges |
| What are the main topics of the conflict? | Water privatization |
| What are the other levels of the conflict, what else is it about? | Socio-economic inequality in Ireland; frustration with the government and austerity imposed from the outside -> national sovereignty vs. power of supra-national funding institutions; right of co-determination (people don’t feel represented by the decisions of their government).
“Its bigger than the water charges, people are showing their frustration today” |
| Which actors are involved and how would you describe their general stance towards the central topic? | The Irish government, World Bank, European Central Bank: proponents of privatization
Citizens and community activists: in the video opponents of water privatization |
| Which actors are left out of the video? | The water company |
| How does each actor justify his or her position?
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Government and banks: not mentioned
Opponents: just another austerity measures and enough is enough, people won’t be able to pay, rivers are a common and free good |
| Which methods and tactics (besides justification) does each actor group employ? What kinds of resistance can you see? | Water meters, police force
Activist addressing police involved in installation on water meters “on which side are you on, boys?” -> humanization of them, proposing personal relationship, “us against them” Popular protests on the streets (banners, chanting slogans etc.), “disobedient citizens” |
| Do the actors employ any strong verbal expressions in order to demonstrate and consolidate their position? | “Water revolution”, “dictatorship”, “ministry of thirst”, “they will lie in terror”, “human right” |
| On which spatial levels are conflicts and resistance taking place?
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National and local (protests are in Dublin but also in other places, such as e.g. individual’s resistance against installation of water meters) |
| Questions | The Chixoy Dam: No Reparations, No Justice, No Peace |
| What are the main topics of the conflict? | Dam construction and violence |
| What are the other levels of the conflict, what else is it about? | Livelihoods (access to land and water is central in compensation demands); identity attached to land; which “development” for whom (dam portrayed as “development” by the U.S. and Guatemalan government); state control; dried up river beds affecting downstream communities; distribution of benefits and burdens (who wins, who loses?) |
| Which actors are involved and how would you describe their general stance towards the central topic? | U.S. government, U.N. Truth Commission, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank;
Affected population, international human rights groups (issuing reports about the military regimes oppression), researchers (elaborating impact assessment of the dam) |
| Which actors are left out of the video? | |
| How does each actor justify his or her position? | Dam proponents: dam will bring progress and development/is for the national good
Dam opponents: human rights violations, benefits only for some but not for local populations, and others… |
| Which methods and tactics (besides justification) does each actor group employ? What kinds of resistance can you see? | Government and security forces: Accusing villagers of being “guerrilla” and thereby justifying violence; private security forces, police and military working together violently à making an example of the Rio Negro Massacre (Massacre as eviction); model villages
Coordinator Rights Action: Reference to guidelines “they never got prior informed consent” |
| Do the actors employ any strong verbal expressions in order to demonstrate and consolidate their position? | “Genocide”, “war against communism”, “development” |
| On which spatial levels are conflicts and resistance taking place? | Both upstream and downstream communities are affected, even though in different ways (eviction and loss of water sources) -> so territories around the dam
But also trans-nationalization of struggle: community leader travelling to the U.S. |