Water and Power in Manchuria in the Late 19th - First Third of the 20th Centuries: Geopolitical Rivalry and the Struggle of Narratives in Russian-Language and English-L anguage Scholarly Works

Drawing on the sustained scholarly interest in the “struggle for Manchuria” and the pressing need for critical source analysis, particularly in the context of the contemporary geopolitical landscape of the Asia-Pacific region, this article revisits the historical narrative through a hydropolitical lens. It analyzes the divergent interpretations of water resources and the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) as presented in Russian and English-language sources from the first third of the 20th century. The study aims to demonstrate the formation of competing narratives shaped by the distinct linguistic-cultural and political perspectives of their authors. Authors of Russian-language works emphasize the economic significance of regional water communications. In contrast, English-language scholarship predominantly adopts a geopolitical paradigm, often intertwined with politically biased interpretations that tend to understate Russia’s role while idealizing the policies of the United States, Japan, and other actors. These discrepancies underscore the existence of a narrative struggle within the hydropolitical context, highlighting the mechanisms of political instrumentalization of historical interpretations concerning water resources and infrastructure to legitimize geopolitical strategies. This article contributes to the burgeoning field of hydropolitics as an increasingly relevant branch of political science. Through the case study of Manchuria’s political history, it demonstrates the significance of a hydropolitical approach for analyzing contemporary geopolitical processes in the Asia-Pacific region and the imperative for critically reflecting upon politicized narratives surrounding water resources in international politics.