CLACS Talk Series
Title: Dredging as Geopolitics: The (Re)making of "the Peripheral" along the Paraná-Paraguay Corridor
Speaker: Simone Vegliò, Project Researcher at Malmö University
Date & Time: Tuesday, December 3, 2025, at 3:00pm
Location: Coble Hall, Room 306
The Paraná-Paraguay Corridor, spanning 3,442 kilometers across five South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia), represents a critical infrastructure for global agribusiness. The presentation explores the geopolitical tensions emerging around new dredging concessions on the Paraná River. First, it discusses China's growing influence, as the country not only participates in agricultural exports in the area but also competes for dredging operations, intensifying geopolitical tensions within the U.S.-China axis. Second, it sheds light on the forms of regional fragmentation unfolding along the corridor, where the countries are increasingly locked into infra-regional competition and political anxieties. By exploring key questions surrounding the dredging of the Paraná-Paraguay corridor, and by reflecting on the significance of “fluid” infrastructures, the presentation unpacks a discussion about the (re)making of “the peripheral” in the region.
We hope you can join us!