Dam Construction in the Light of Green Criminology: A Content Analysis of the Novel After the Cloud

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

• Hamid Reza Danesh Nari ¹
• Abolfazl Sherafati ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² M.Sc. Student, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

10.22067/geoeh.2025.93741.1576

Abstract

Environmental issues have become one of the major concerns of various sciences in recent decades. Criminology, as a branch of the social sciences, is not indifferent to these issues. Contemporary critical criminology has introduced new topics to the field, one of which is environmental damage and protection. The importance of these issues is so great that it has led to the formation of a new branch in criminology, called green criminology. In this research, using the qualitative content analysis method, the novel After the Cloud by Babak Zamani was analyzed based on the theory of green criminology, with an emphasis on the environmental damage caused by dam construction. The results of this study indicate that dam construction projects, both during construction and afterwards, have negative environmental consequences that can result in ecosystem destruction. Dam construction can also lead to forced displacement due to rising water levels and the submergence of indigenous peoples' habitats. In this context, the lack of government support makes indigenous people the main victims of unregulated dam construction.
Introduction
The theory of green criminology was first proposed by Michael Lynch in 1990. In an article titled “The Greening of Criminology,” he focused on environmental crimes and analyzed them with a critical eye. Environmental crimes are a broad concept that, in addition to economic damage, also violate the right to a healthy environment. Theorists in this field believe that because environmental crimes are often accompanied by widespread damage and sometimes restoration to the original state is impossible, the best solution is prevention and proactive measures.
One of the important topics in the analysis of environmental crimes is the issue of political economy, which emphasizes two areas. First, it examines the role and activities of the state that facilitate or create conditions for environmental destruction and damage. These issues are related to public policymaking and the constant intervention of governments. Second, it explores the decisive role of capitalism in production and its methods, which are in conflict with the environment. Therefore, environmental crimes are increasingly associated with the ideology of capitalism. For this reason, green criminology has a pessimistic view of capitalism, consumer culture, and social contradictions, reflecting its critical and Marxist nature.
The development and operation of hydroelectric power plants and large dams are often accompanied by serious and widespread social consequences that are rarely properly identified or assessed. In many cases, responsible institutions do not adequately address the negative impacts of these projects on the lives of local communities. Since the 1970s, awareness of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of dams has increased. The World Commission on Dams (WCD) warned more than two decades ago that the construction of large dams without sufficient attention to social consequences has caused widespread damage, including the displacement of millions of people, loss of livelihoods, and deterioration in the quality of life. Moreover, in most cases, compensation for indigenous people has been inadequate, and efforts to restore their living conditions have failed.
This research aims to examine and evaluate the novel After the Cloud in the light of green criminology theory, using qualitative content analysis. The novel, written by Babak Zamani in the style of social realism, primarily explores the consequences of dam construction. The main research question is: How are environmental damage and the negative consequences of dam construction represented in this realistic novel? What roles do power and wealth groups play in the occurrence and escalation of environmental crimes?
Material and Methods
This study employs qualitative content analysis to examine data related to critical criminology in the novel After the Cloud. Qualitative content analysis is a suitable method for analyzing textual data in large volumes and in specific contexts. Through this method, the most important categories of the text are identified, and its hidden meanings are uncovered. By coding and categorizing the data, theoretical concepts can be tested and their validity assessed. Since the success of qualitative content analysis depends on the precise and purposeful selection of categories, which must align with the hypotheses and theoretical framework of the research, the categories in this study were chosen to directly correspond to the concepts and concerns of green criminology. Each category reflects one of the theoretical dimensions of this approach in explaining environmental crimes and damage.
Results and Discussion
The research findings are presented under three categories: (1) dam construction in the light of green criminology, (2) environmental crimes of the powerful, and (3) victimization of indigenous people, followed by (4) the sociological harms of dam construction projects.
Dam projects clearly demonstrate human rights violations against indigenous and local communities. These projects, ostensibly undertaken for the development and exploitation of water resources and energy production, often violate the fundamental rights of affected populations. The loss of agricultural land, homes, and water resources that generations have relied on to sustain their livelihoods is just one example of these violations. Indigenous and local communities are forcibly displaced, separated from their natural environment, and stripped of their cultural and social identity. Furthermore, inadequate attention to their post-displacement well-being—such as the absence of jobs, education, and social infrastructure—creates conditions in which basic human rights are violated. In After the Cloud, dam construction is presented by the company as a project for development, but in reality, it results in environmental destruction, mountain explosions, and the burial of plant species and agricultural lands.
A common shortcoming of dam projects is the lack of commitment by government officials to the resettlement of displaced people. Research shows that many villagers forcibly displaced by dam construction emphasize the role of government officials in their loss of capital and property. The institutional structure of these projects has a serious impact on how resettlement and other development-related issues are addressed. In After the Cloud, one of the author’s main concerns is the lack of accountability of companies and the government. The irreparable damage caused to the natural environment and residents goes largely unanswered, and no institution holds companies accountable.
In green criminology, the concept of harm is also central. It goes beyond the violation of official laws to include socially harmful practices, even if the law does not classify them as crimes. In After the Cloud, social harms appear in various forms. The dam projects in this novel are not limited to environmental destruction; they also reveal widespread social harms. The lives of local people, who had developed their land and gardens for years, are suddenly submerged, and their lifelong efforts destroyed. The jobs promised are short-term, unstable, and degrading, undermining the future of the youth in these regions. Promises of employment and development soon give way to unemployment, poverty, forced migration, and family collapse.
Conclusion
This novel helps readers better understand the concept of state and corporate crimes in a critical sense—by drawing attention to harms that are ignored in the official discourse of society. In this way, it expands the perspective on crime from its traditional and narrow definition to a broader, critical one in which crime includes all harmful practices of powerful groups, regardless of whether they are criminalized by law.
In contemporary capitalism, the close relationship between large corporations and governments has created a cycle of environmental crimes in which the economic interests of capitalists take precedence over human rights and the environment. This power structure enables corporations to implement projects such as the construction of large dams with government support and permits. Although these projects are justified by goals such as energy supply, economic development, and natural resource management, in practice they have devastating consequences for nature and human societies, particularly indigenous peoples.

Keywords

• Green Criminology
• Environmental Crimes
• Dam Construction
• Indigenous Communities
• Environmental Justice

Main Subjects

• Human hazards

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©2025 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

 

 

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