Hydro-hegemony in Basin of Inland (Subnational) Rivers: Case Study of GavShomar Dam in Lorestan, Iran

most water-related conflicts occur at national levels disagreements due to the higher number of inland rivers rather than international rivers. In some countries, mismanagement of water resource allocation affects the relations between communities and subnational political-spatial units leading to tension and conflicts between them. There is an increasing case of such conflicts in Iran and the world. The competition between communities and residents of upstream and downstream basins of Kashkan River is a debatable issue. The most outstanding case of this competition can be seen in the construction process of GavShomar Dam (Mashooreh) upstream of the river. Accordingly, this descriptive-analytical study was conducted by using bibliographic and online references to examine the construction process of Gavshoma Dam.This paper aimed at finding reasons for the delay in the construction process of this dam, as well as revealing subnational competitions at the basin level of the Kashkan River. In fact, the purpose of this study is to analyze the reasons for the failure to construct the Gavshoma Dam based on the concept of "subnational hydro-hegemony. Results related to the local level (intra-provincial) indicated that "security hegemony" of the downstream part (Pol Dokhtar) of River Basin has prevented the upstream part (Kuhdasht) from providing financial resources required for dam construction due to weak "economic hegemony". Regarding the regional level (interprovincial), the strategic importance of Khuzestan as a province and its economic, political, and security role in the country prevent the central government from taking the risk of dissatisfaction and protests in this province.