Energy, Risk and Governance: The Case of Nuclear Energy in India

Description

This book is about how energy, risk and governance are intertwined in the development of the nuclear industry in India and its relationship with the Indian public. It provides a rare insider-view of how the nuclear establishment thinks about risk, contrasted with public understandings of nuclear risk. Energy, Risk and Governance presents a nuanced picture of why nuclear energy is still considered by some as a rational choice. This is in spite of its risks, the ambiguities in both expert and public risk perceptions, and the internal reflexivities that have emerged within the nuclear establishment as a result of the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster that is absent from public discourse. The insights in this book are not unique to India and similar observations can likely be made across the global nuclear industry. Reflecting on what this means for risk governance in practice, this book proposes practical suggestions and some tools that practitioners in the nuclear industry can use in public engagement, risk communication and deliberation at various stages of decision-making. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Nuclear Energy, Risk and Governance (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 1-27 Risk in Social Theory (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 29-54 The Making of India’s Nuclear Energy Programme (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 55-78 Elite Risk Perceptions (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 79-106 Risk, Safety and Ontological Security (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 107-151 Public Risk Perceptions (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 153-198 From Risk Management to Risk Governance (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 199-248 Conclusion (Catherine Mei Ling Wong)....Pages 249-254 Back Matter ....Pages 255-286