A study of mega project from a perspective of social conflict theory

Extensive studies show that mega project has close connections with globalization and civilization, but little articles make social logical analyses of mega project. Traditional conflict management lays stress on projects leading to conflicts while neglecting the fact that conflict can also result in mega project in a social context. This paper studies the relationship between mega project and social conflict by exploring mega project from the perspective of the social conflict theory, and develops a conceptual model of mega project, which includes three propositions: (1) mega project is the outcome of social conflict; (2) it functions as a safety valve in society; and (3) it has close relationships with the level of political centralization and economic development. At the end, this paper puts forward some suggestions about the construction of mega project. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. and IPMA. All rights reserved.