京都大学 大学院経済学研究科・経済学部

タイトル：”Qanats and the Seeds of Mobilization”　

Abstract: We study the impact of culture on mobilization of the population to engage in protests against mismanagement by the state. Our region of interest is Iran, where the construction and maintenance of traditional small-scale irrigation systems known as qanats have nurtured a culture of community-building and trust. Using geo-referenced data on droughts from the Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and on water-related protests from Armed Conflict Location & Events Data (ACLED) at grid-level, we highlight that the presence of qanats serve as a catalyst within communities to coordinate anti-government protests in times of hardship. The interaction of qanats with drought remains strikingly strong and robustly significant after accounting for a battery of fixed effects. We argue that communities historically endowed with qanats have acquired coordination skills to act as an entity and express their voice against ill-fated policies imposed by the state.