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Anti-Nuclear Movements in Discursive and Political Contexts Between Expert Voices and Local Protests

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Anti-Nuclear Movements in Discursive and Political Contexts Between Expert Voices and Local Protests Anti-nuclear Movements in Discursive and Political Contexts Between expert voices and local protests Ekaterina Tarasova SÖDERTÖRN DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS Anti-nuclear Movements in Discursive and Political Contexts Anti-nuclear Movements in Discursive and Political Contexts Between expert voices and local protests Ekaterina Tarasova Subject: Political Science Research Area: Politics, Economy and the Organization of Society (PESO) School: Social Sciences and Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS) Södertörns högskola (Södertörn University) The Library SE-141 89 Huddinge www.sh.se/publications © The author Cover Image: The cover image is open to different interpretations, depending on the perspective of the viewer. It is possible to “see” almost anything, from green trees to explosions or much more. The same can be said about nuclear energy and the various perspectives associated with it. Viewers must decide how to make sense of what they see and act according to their own interpre-tations. © Kathie Nichols/Shutterstock.com Cover Layout: Jonathan Robson Graphic Form: Per Lindblom & Jonathan Robson Printed by Elanders, Stockholm 2017 Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations 131 ISSN 1652-7399 ISBN 978-91-87843-81-5 ISBN 978-91-87843-82-2 (digital) Abstract Energy policies which maintain and extend nuclear energy are often opposed by anti-nuclear movements. Ambitious plans for developing nuclear energy in Russia, constructing a first nuclear plant in Poland, and lifting the ban on nuclear energy while allowing the replacement of old reactors in Sweden are examples of such energy policies. In contrast to the massive anti-nuclear move- ments of 1970-1990s, recent anti-nuclear movements are not organized as national protest campaigns. This thesis examines repertoires of anti-nuclear movements in the alleged “Nuclear Renaissance” period. Repertoires of anti-nuclear actions are analyzed from the perspective of discursive and political opportunities of anti-nuclear movements. Discursive opportunities are enabled or hindered in the ordering of nuclear energy dis- courses, making messages and actions of social movements legitimate or illegitimate. While discourses of anti-nuclear movements are complex, official discourses of nuclear energy featuring arguments about profitability, energy security and environmental security in connection to nuclear energy develop- ment, resonate more with broader socio-political developments. Ordering of discourses is established in such a way that expert rhetoric becomes a standard approach for discussing nuclear energy, while references to emotions and sub- jective matters are unacceptable. Political contexts of anti-nuclear movements provide opportunities for envi- ronmental NGOs, one kind of actor in anti-nuclear movements, to pursue nonconfrontational strategies and engage in institutional channels, where they can contribute their expert knowledge. Concurrently, another actor in anti- nuclear movements, local anti-nuclear groups, on the one hand, share argu- mentative structures with environmental NGOs, and, on the other hand, attempt to mobilize local population and organize local protests. Due to limited opportunities for attention from the national media and focus on local issues, local protests are not featured in the national media, which is crucial for national protest actions. The differences in repertoires between these two kinds of actors and absence of actors opting for mass engagement provide insight into repertoires of anti- nuclear movements as a whole. This thesis demonstrates how discursive opportunities of social movements, which result from competing discourses of movements and their counter-agents, and political opportunities structure repertoires of actions of these movements. Key words: social movements, nuclear energy, discourse, action repertoires, protests, Nuclear Renaissance, Russia, Poland, Sweden Acknowledgments A thesis is not written by sitting, thinking and writing down thoughts on paper alone but is born amongst many interactions and is highly affected by the surrounding contexts. This work has become possible due to the generous full support of the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies for the doctoral position. The Swedish Network for European Studies in Political Science, the Swedish Institute, and the Helge Ax:son Johnsons Foundation kindly supported some of the trips connected to this study and also thesis completion. The crucial keystone in writing this thesis has been the engagement of my supervisors, Mai-Brith Schartau and Björn Hassler. Thank you for your always timely and much needed feedback, and for believing in this project. I have learnt so much both from your comments and our discussions! Thank you, Mai-Brith, for always making me feel that your door is open and you are ready to discuss whatever I had about the thesis and around it. Thank you also for including me as an informal member of the project on public participation in environmental governance, and thank you everyone at the project for your comments at various stages of this thesis. Thank you, Björn, for reading my texts always very thoroughly and for the comments that sometimes made me think in new ways. I am immensely grateful to both of you, Mai-Brith and Björn, for helping me to understand how to argue better and always giving me freedom to shape this project! This thesis has benefited from numerous opportunities to be read, commented and discussed. Kerstin Jacobsson, Johnny Rodin and Adrienne Sörbom commented on the early drafts of some of the chapters. Kristina Boréus provided enlightening feedback on carrying out a discourse analysis at the 50% seminar. The comments of Katrin Uba at the final seminar gave the final touch and shape to this thesis. Karin Borevi and Joakim Ekman read the work at the final stages. Thank you, Karin Edberg, for your com- ments at the final seminar and also for our common projects, which has been fun! Jaakko Turunen has always been ready to discuss discourse and language. Inga Brandell once made a remark about my doctoral project that made me look at it with different eyes, and this thesis probably would not have been about social movements without it. Many important interactions took place when I presented this work at various conferences and work- shops. I so appreciate all your invaluable feedback! My colleagues within the discipline of political science have created a welcoming and friendly atmosphere where only constructive feedback found its way. Thank you, Fredrika Björklund, Peter Strandbrink, Karl Magnus Johansson, Ali Hajighasemi and all the former and present collea- gues at the department for interesting discussions about politics and more! Thank you, Nick Aylott, Ola Svenonius and Peteris Timofejevs Henriksson, for our talks and your encouragement and kind words, specifically in the last months. I am also grateful to CBEES for creating the inspiring atmos- phere during the first year of the doctoral program and also later. Helene Carlbäck, Kristy Beers Fägersten, Rebecka Lettevall and all the other col- leagues there had their part to play. Terry Cox and Eamonn Butler found time to discuss some of the findings of this thesis during my stay at the University of Glasgow. Marcin Fronia contributed with comments about environmental politics in Poland when I was there at the field trip. I am grateful to each of them as well as my former supervisor, Irina Albertovna Haliy, at Higher School of Economics, and everyone at the ECM master program at SLU, for all the discussions that helped me to arrive to the beginning of this doctoral project. I would like to thank Karin Lindebrant, Nina Cajhamre, Ewa Rogström, Lena Arvidsson, Kristina Westerlund, Judith Bergman, Vit Kysilka, Caroline Andreassen, Ulrica Lindbäck, Monica Johansson for helping me to navigate administrative matters in the best possible way. The Södertörn Library has always surprised me with how easy and fast it has been possible to get what is needed. One cannot dream of more perfect conditions for writing a doctoral thesis. Thank you for creating such environment! Without the participation of my respondents, this work simply would not be possible. Thank you so much for your time and interest in this project and for providing your views on the subject! Great appreciation goes to everyone who helped me with transcribing the interviews. Dr. Mary-Jane Fox did an excellent job proofreading and reviewing this thesis. There have also been important interactions of other kinds. I have had the pleasure to share the experience of writing a thesis with my fellow doctoral students at BEEGS and the School of Social Sciences: Adrià Alcoverro, Anders Backlund, Peter Balogh, David Birksjö, Karin Edberg, Florence Fröhlig, Ellinor Hamrén, Iveta Jurkane-Hobein, Ekaterina Kalinina, Eva Karlberg, Marcel Mangold, Marco Nase, Niklas Nilsson, Johanna Pettersson, Olena Podolian, Maarja Saar, Irina Seits, Katharina Wesolowski, Julia Velkova, Jaakko Turunen, Francesco Zavatti. Our lunches, endless grilling, cosy discussions and even a trip to the archipelago with some of you made writing a thesis an incredibly pleasant process. Liudmila Voronova, Natalya Yakusheva and Emilia Pawlusz, thank you for all the great time, long discussions about everything, always timely words, our traveling together and for always being there for me. Thank you everyone at the karate dojo at Fleminsgberg, and in particular Rudolf Ladenstein and Peter Strandbrink. In parallel with my thesis, I have learned to do things I could have never imagined before. While engaged in thesis- related traveling, I often found a familiar face of my fellow ECM group- mates in places I visited, which was great. Irina, thank you for your kind support and the wonderful short adventures together; it has always been great fun and I am looking forward to the new ones to come. Thank you, Evgenia, Evgenia, Natalya, Sonia, Anna, and Ekaterina for always encouraging me in anything I have started with, for all the great time when I was back in Russia (and sometimes in Sweden), for making me feel that you are always next door and for constan- tly inspiring me in so many ways! The support of my family has been crucial for completing this thesis.
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