“Personally, It Does Not Bother Me All that Much”: Nuclear Risk Assessments and Strategic Choice among Stakeholders in Post-Fukushima France

ABSTRACT

Nuclear technology is often associated with risk, a connotation amplified by major nuclear disasters including Japan’s 2011 Fukushima Daiichi power plant catastrophe. Assessments of risk associated with nuclear energy are complex, reflecting political and economic interests in the technology. Countries like France that rely heavily on nuclear power make efforts to craft messages about nuclear risk to both normalize and prevent resistance to the technology. Normative, oppositional, and monitoring stakeholders compete to define the meaning of nuclear energy in France. As actors discuss the future of the industry, they integrate the concept of risk into daily narratives. Employing data from 27 semi-structured interviews with 28 key stakeholders, our study considers France’s unique relationship with nuclear energy to address risk and tactical choice in a context that normalizes a contested technology. Our analysis highlights the dominant position of normative stakeholders in influencing nuclear risk perceptions and weakening oppositional tactical choices.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ In January 2018, Areva was restructured and renamed Orano. To remain consistent with the interviews, we use the name Areva in the remainder of the paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julie Schweitzer

Julie Schweitzerreceived her doctoral degree from Oklahoma State University. Her research focuses on environmental and energy issues as they pertain to shaping risk perception and normalizing energy production programs. Dr. Schweitzer’s research interests include environmental justice, social inequality, and social movements. Current projects discuss environmental activism and stakeholder relations in the context of energy production and the unfolding and convergence of collective action in France.

Tamara L. Mix

Tamara L. Mix is the Dresser Professor of Rural Sociology and department head at Oklahoma State University. She teaches in the areas of environmental sociology, inequality, social movements, and qualitative methods. Dr. Mix’s research interests include environmental justice; race, class, and gender inequality; and social movements. Current projects consider environmental and social justice activism, inequalities in food security and local food production networks impacting underserved communities, and human dimensions of resource extraction and production.