Comparative cross-country analysis on preliminary identification of key factors underlying public perception and societal engagement with nuclear developments in different national contexts: Deliverable D4.2 (update) of EU Project 662268 "HoNESt"

Abstract

This report deals with the history of nuclear-society interactions from a social science perspective. Since the beginning of project HoNESt in September 2015, historians have elaborated 20 so called ‘short country reports’ covering most European and major non-European countries (e.g. USA). On the basis of this comprehensive collection of individual studies – each encompassing about 60 years of history – we have selected seven countries to be analysed in terms of public perception of, and public engagement with, nuclear energy: Austria, Bulgaria, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (USA). Our findings reveal that each country follows its own nuclear development path with corresponding preference profiles and engagement traditions. However, there are similarities among countries allowing researchers to classify them analytically as either neutral to supportive (e.g. UK) or refusing (e.g. FRG) with regard to deploying nuclear power for electricity production. The varying preference profiles of each country hints at the fact that people refer to a broad scope of heterogeneous evaluation criteria when assessing nuclear technologies. Arguments such as security of energy supply, (dis)trust in decision-makers, climate change, or national prestige play an important role in the debate. Citizens argue from different points of view. Their perceptions and arguments reflect the complexity of the debate comprising environmental, economic, social, and political considerations. Except for the UK and Bulgaria, where protests only occasionally occurred, all countries have faced active civil society opposition against nuclear issues, i.e. public forced communication activities. Pro-nuclear communication processes commissioned by regulators and industry promoters of nuclear power are part of the history of nuclear-society interactions in each country. However, there is only a handful of examples of consultation initiatives, and just one case of a public participation process.