Why Italian Nuclear Energy Policy Failed Twice

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Franchino
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Coalition Politics ◽  
History Of ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Nuclear Energy Policy ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Fukushima Disaster

The history of nuclear energy policy in Italy is characterized by major shifts. After being a world leader in nuclear energy production in the 1960s, the country stopped its programme in the 1980s. An attempt at rejuvenating and expanding nuclear energy in the early 2000s came to an end after the Fukushima disaster. In both instances a referendum was held. Party competition, coalition politics, changes in government, and Italy’s institutional features, in particular the provisions for holding referendums, are the main factors explaining these policy reversals. The chapter concludes that a relaunch of the nuclear energy programme does not seem impossible, but is unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Nuclear Energy in Western Europe

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Energy Policies ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Present Volume ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Nuclear Energy Policy

The chapter introduces the main research questions of the present volume: Why do nations make different decisions on nuclear energy and why some of the decisions are upheld but others reversed. To illustrate the relevance of the research question, the chapter outlines the history of nuclear energy that has gone through ups and downs and displays great inter-country variation. It gives particular attention to the two most recent periods of ‘nuclear revival’ (beginning in the late 1990s/early 2000s) and then the post-Fukushima bifurcation of national nuclear energy policies in which many countries stick to their path whereas others make reversals. The chapter identifies the international drivers of nuclear energy policy—factors that influence all countries to varying degrees depending very much on context constellations. The chapter concludes with a plan of the book.

The Will of the People? Swedish Nuclear Power Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sören Holmberg ◽  
Per Hedberg
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Coalition Politics ◽  
The People ◽  
The Will ◽  
New Generation ◽  
New Phase ◽  
Fukushima Disaster

Sweden started its nuclear programme in the early 1950s. Initially it was generally welcomed as modernization and even supported by environmentalists. The issue became more contested in the 1970s, when protests began and the Centre Party turned anti-nuclear. In the 1980s, the phasing out of nuclear energy until 2010 was decided as a consequence of a referendum. In 2010, however, the parliament decided to allow building a new generation of nuclear power plants. After the Fukushima disaster a new phase of nuclear energy confinement began in 2014 as a consequence of a Red-Green coalition coming to power. Over the years most Swedish parties have reversed their positions on the nuclear power issue. Policy reversals were triggered by party competition and government replacement and reflected changes in public opinion as well as coalition politics.

The Fukushima Disaster and the Framing of Nuclear Energy in India

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil Deb
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Public Mind ◽  
The Public ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Nuclear Energy Policy ◽  
Fukushima Disaster

AbstractMost research on Fukushima has been directed at technical and epidemiological aspects; yet the ways in which emerging nuclear powers such as India have responded to the meltdown is inadequate. This article investigates (1) the Fukushima meltdown as an epitome of risk associated with nuclear energy to understand what role this disaster has played in the Indian nuclear energy policy; and (2) whether the Indian nuclear authority has renewed its effort to shape the public mind in favor of nuclear safety in the wake of a deadly nuclear disaster in Fukushima. I use content analysis of statements made by nuclear personnel in response to the Fukushima meltdown from newspaper articles published in five major English-language newspapers in India. The findings suggest that the Fukushima meltdown has little impact on India’s nuclear energy policy. Instead, the Indian nuclear authority uses language to shape the public opinion surrounding nuclear energy.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Frame-bridging: Exploring the Nuclear Discourse in Scotland

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antje Brown
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Story Telling ◽  
Policy Framing ◽  
Policy Frames ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Research Interviews ◽  
Nuclear Energy Policy ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Individual

Simple indicative factors such as political populism and resource abundance cannot fully explain the Scottish Government's anti-nuclear energy policy. To grasp the current policy stance, it is necessary to pay attention to the wider contextualisation of policy framing and specifically the dynamic of story-telling and frame-bridging that ultimately feeds into governmental policy. The Scottish Government's decisive ‘no’ to a new nuclear fleet can be better understood by considering the underlying (and deliberate) bridging of policy frames that is noticeable between environmental, pacifist, and Scottish independence actors. This bridging not only affects the individual sets of story-telling but also develops a dynamic that reinforces individual stories and transcends well beyond the groups' original remit and objectives. With the help of policy framing analysis, research interviews and documentary analysis, the article explores the dynamic connections between anti-nuclear and independence activists and their causes in Scotland. The article highlights their triangular bridges in terms of personnel, language and story-telling and argues that these are instrumental in shaping the Scottish Government's anti-nuclear energy policy.

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