John Aerni-Flessner, associate professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University, has released a new book exploring one of Southern Africa’s most significant infrastructure projects.
White Gold and Thirsty Communities: The Cold War, Apartheid, and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project offers a deeply researched account of how global politics, regional agreements, and local communities intersect through water. The book traces the decades-long development of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, a major system that transfers water from Lesotho to South Africa, while also examining its uneven impacts on the people who live alongside it.
The project itself is both a feat of engineering and a reflection of historical tensions. Rooted in a 1986 treaty shaped by Cold War dynamics and apartheid-era politics, it continues to influence economic development, resource distribution, and everyday life across the region.