‘It Is a Tradition in the Nuclear Industry... Secrecy’: Political Opportunity Structures and Nuclear Knowledge Production in France

Julie Schweitzer and Tamara L Mix
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Julie Schweitzer: Oklahoma State University, USA
Tamara L Mix: Oklahoma State University, USA

Sociological Research Online, 2022, vol. 27, issue 2, 504-524

Abstract: Employing the example of France’s civil nuclear program, we connect political opportunity structures (POSs) to mechanisms of knowledge production, identifying how opposing stakeholders generate knowledge about a controversial technology. A history of nuclear dependence in France creates a context that praises, normalizes, and rationalizes nuclear energy while stigmatizing attempts to question or contest the nuclear industry’s dominant position. Integrating Bond’s knowledge-shaping process with Coy and colleagues’ concept of oppositional knowledge, we consider how the broader social, political, and economic context influences opposing stakeholder assessments of nuclear energy. Employing qualitative semi-structured interviews, we offer unique insight into the French nuclear debate, discussing the role of POS in shaping knowledge production.

Keywords: France; knowledge production; nuclear energy; political opportunity structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socres:v:27:y:2022:i:2:p:504-524

DOI: 10.1177/13607804211025052

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