This thesis researches the colonial water governance strategies of the French administration in Morocco between 1912 and 1925. It shows that water governance was, and remains, a strong tool for...Show moreThis thesis researches the colonial water governance strategies of the French administration in Morocco between 1912 and 1925. It shows that water governance was, and remains, a strong tool for transforming traditional power structures using three case studies. The first is public order and the relatonship between the old elites and the Moroccan farmers; the second is the restructuring of legal practises; the third is the decentralisation of power through settler politics. The thesis shows that the aim of the French was not to improve the lives of the Moroccans or their country, but to break old power structures and centralise power and resources under the French authority. The thesis explores the concepts of hydraulic property rights creation and legal pluralism.Show less
