Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil

by Eve E. Buckley
Save 17% Save 17%
Current price ₹11,399.00
Original price ₹13,679.00
Original price ₹13,679.00
Original price ₹13,679.00
(-17%)
₹11,399.00
Current price ₹11,399.00

Imported Edition - Ships in 18-21 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9781469634296
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
  • Publisher Imprint: University of North Carolina Press
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 298
  • Original Price: USD 99.0
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 635 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): Latin America / South America

Eve E. Buckley's study of twentieth-century Brazil examines the nation's hard social realities through the history of science, focusing on the use of technology and engineering as vexed instruments of reform and economic development. Nowhere was the tension between technocratic optimism and entrenched inequality more evident than in the drought-ridden Northeast sert�o, plagued by chronic poverty, recurrent famine, and mass migrations. Buckley reveals how the physicians, engineers, agronomists, and mid-level technocrats working for federal agencies to combat drought were pressured by politicians to seek out a technological magic bullet that would both end poverty and obviate the need for land redistribution to redress long-standing injustices.

Scientists planned and oversaw huge projects including dam construction, irrigation for small farmers, and public health initiatives. They were, Buckley shows, sincerely determined to solve the drought crisis and improve the lot of poor people in the sert�o. Over time, however, they came to the frustrating realization that, despite technology's tantalizing promise of an apolitical means to end poverty, political collisions among competing stakeholders were inevitable. Buckley's revelations about technocratic hubris, the unexpected consequences of environmental engineering, and constraints on scientists as agents of social change resonate with today's hopes that science and technology can solve society's most pressing dilemmas, including climate change.

Buckley, Eve E.: - Eve E. Buckley is associate professor of history at the University of Delaware.

Trusted for over 49 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us