This ESRC funded project presented two related case studies of large technological development projects in Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. They are the Ilusu dam project and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project. Both cases have brought together into a network of negotiation, British government agencies, international finance organisations, multinational firms and NGOs. International financial support for the Ilusu dam project was not given following a campaign by NGOs and criticism in Parliament. 

The study uses a range of methods: interviews with government and financial institutions, companies, NGOs, activists, and parliamentarians; computer-based analysis of links between institutional websites; direct observation of public events and demonstrations; documentary research; and field visits to Turkey and Azerbaijan. In addition to its significance for non-academic users, the study contributes to the development of new sociological theories of the relations between social scientific expertise, technology, economy and society.

The study formed part of phase 2 of the ESRC Science in Society programme.