Staff
- Agar
- Agarin
- Alam
- Andreasson
- Baker
- Barry
- Bew
- Blease
- Bourne
- Breen
- Bulley
- Carter
- Demetriou
- Diekemper
- Dietl
- Dilly
- Galligan
- Garry
- Geoghegan
- Gorman
- Guelke
- Jarvis
- Johnson
- Kerr
- Lisle
- McBride
- McCall
- McGowan
- McLoughlin
- McManus
- Milton-Edwards
- Morrison
- Nimni
- O'Callaghan
- O'Leary
- O'Neill
- O'Neill C
- Pettit
- Phinnemore
- Smith, Bill
- Smith, Nicholas
- WalkerB
- WalkerG
- Watkins
- Wilford
Alam
Dr Undala Alam
Contact Details
21 University Square
Belfast BT7 1PA
Room: 18.201
Tel: +44 (0) 28 9097 3627
Email: u.alam@qub.ac.uk
Degrees
PhD in Political Geography (Durham University)
MA International Studies (Leeds University)
BSc Chemistry (Imperial College)
Research interests
I focus primarily on the politics of water management. I examine the political rhetoric and social constructions that ensure some actors are able to secure access to water at different levels. There are two broad themes – international rivers, and corruption in the water sector.
My work on international rivers started with my doctoral research into India and Pakistan’s negotiations that were supported by the World Bank and led to the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. In the process, I trained as a mediator, and gained access to the Bank’s archives which house classified primary material on the negotiations. My subsequent work with the United Nations and the World Bank on the sustainable management of international rivers in Africa, gave me the chance to examine the unique inter-governmental cooperation in the Senegal basin.
Sparked by a World Bank assignment in Nigeria in which legitimate and illegitimate influence resulted in project failure, I explore alternative approaches to corruption. While recognising the structural element to corruption, I focus on behavioural imperatives such as emotions to understand what drives corruption. My aim is to inform future policy and project designs.
Grants
- (Writing): Surviving the odds: How communities sustain livelihoods in Kashmir (India). NERC-ESRC-Dfid, £2.9 million
- (Submitted): Really, Prime Minister: Constructing narratives in public. British Academy, £7,500
- ESRC Scholarship under the Global Environmental Change programme, £30,000
Publications
- Alam, U., (Post-review revisions) “Passing rainclouds: Understanding corruption as access to resources” Annals of the AAG.
- Alam, U., O. Dione and P. Jeffrey, (In press) “Hydrology vs sovereignty: Managing the hydrological interdependency of international rivers” Water Policy.
- Alam, U., O. Dione and P. Jeffrey (2009) “The benefit-sharing principle: Implementing sovereignty bargains on water” Political Geography. 28(2), 90-100.
- Alam, U. (2008) “Current Directions: It doesn’t hurt to ask” Water International. 33(2), 149.
- Alam, U., P. Sahota and P. Jeffrey, (2007) “Irrigation in the Indus basin: A history of unsustainability?” Water Science and Technology : Water Supply. 7(1), 211-218.
- Alam, U. and O. Dione, (2006) “Fueling cooperation: A regional approach to reducing poverty in the Senegal river basin”. In Fox, M.L. and Liebenthal, R. (eds) Attacking Africa’s poverty: Experience from the ground. World Bank: Washington, DC. 95-116.
- Beck, B., U. Alam, P. Jeffrey, K. Robertson and A. Speers, (2006) “How many engineers does it take to achieve sustainable water management?” Water 21. June, 12-14.
- Alam, U. (2002) “Questioning the water wars rationale: A case study of the Indus Waters Treaty” The Geographic Journal. 168(4), 341-353.
