Framing Human Security in Development: A Critical Discourse Analysis of World Bank Projects in the Aral Sea Basin

Nadira Mukhamejan ^a, Erik Schnetzler ^b, Irene Sánchez ^c, Jan Balaš ^d,  Zuzana Boháčová ^d

^a  GEDT, University of Geneva;

^b  “Shaping Policy and Law” and “Building Peace Through Water Diplomacy” programmes, Geneva Water Hub; eschnetzler@genevawaterhub.org

^c  Institute of Migrations, Comillas Pontifical University; sanchezperezirene97@gmail.com

^d  Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University; 42672713@fsv.cuni.cz

https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJWR/2026-R1.v12-1/36-67.eng

*e-mail: nadiramukhamejan@gmail.com

Thematic cluster: Climate & Environment

Type of paper: Research paper

June 08, 2026

Abstract

The Aral Sea crisis, a landmark case of human-induced environmental disaster, has prompted extensive international intervention. The World Bank (WB), as a major donor, plays a pivotal role in shaping responses to this crisis. This paper argues that the WB’s interventions are legitimized through a powerful discursive strategy: the partial securitization of the crisis as a threat to human security. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and securitization theory, this study examines how the WB frames the Aral Sea’s degradation in two key projects: the Syr Darya Control and Northern Aral Sea Phase I Project (NAS) and the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB). The analysis reveals that by constructing a narrative of imminent threat, the WB prioritizes technical, top-down solutions and measurable economic outcomes. This WB’s strategy in the Aral Sea basin, however, effectively depoliticizes the crisis, obscuring its historical and socio-political roots and sidelining community participation and structural inequities. This paper identifies a process of partial securitization, whereby the WB frames an issue as a critical threat to human security to justify intervention, but deliberately contains it within the realm of technical, market-based solutions, thereby avoiding the full political ramifications of a traditional securitization “speech act”. The study concludes by discussing the implications of this security framing for development policy and advocates for more inclusive, locally grounded approaches to environmental governance.

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Mukhamejan, N., Schnetzler, E., Sánchez, I., Balaš, J., Boháčová, Z. (2026). Framing Human Security in Development: A Critical Discourse Analysis of World Bank Projects in the Aral Sea Basin Spatiotemporal Distribution Analysis of Rainfall in the Harirud-Murghab River Basin, Afghanistan, 12(1), 36–67. https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJWR/2026-R1.v12-1/36-67.eng

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