Discourse Analysis of Iran’s Law on Equitable Water Distribution

Introduction This study examines how the relationship between development and the environment is constructed within the discursive framework of Iran’s Law on Equitable Water Distribution from a post-structuralist perspective. The central questions are whether water is conceptualized in the law as an environmental entity or primarily as an instrument for development; whether environmental concerns are problematized or marginalized; and how the relationship between environmental discourse and development discourse is articulated within the law’s discursive structure. The research adopts a qualitative, exploratory approach grounded in the theoretical tradition of social constructivism. Method The study employs discourse analysis as its primary methodological framework, based on the premise that access to reality is always mediated through language. Language does not merely reflect an already existing reality; rather, it actively participates in the construction of social reality. Consequently, meanings and representations are understood not as objective reflections of the world, but as products of discourse. Findings The analysis draws upon three possible models describing the relationship between environmental discourse and development discourse: conflict, interwoven, and overlapping models. The findings indicate that the signifier “environment” is significantly weakened and occupies a highly marginal position within the law’s discursive structure. By contrast, the relatively stabilized signified of development—namely economic growth—is reinforced through the privileging of agriculture as a dominant signifier. Accordingly, the law may best be understood within the framework of an unequal interwoven model. Conclusion Contemporary environmental crises, particularly those related to water, have themselves become powerful signifiers capable of generating substantial discursive gravity and reshaping other signifiers within the broader discursive network, including development. A transformation in the discursive construction of water policy could therefore contribute significantly to improving the environmental status of water governance in Iran.

کلیدواژه ها:

discourse analysis ، equitable water distribution law ، development ، environment ، water governance