GOVERNANCE, IDEOLOGY, CITIZEN PERCEPTIONS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THE NUCLEAR WASTE STALEMATE IN USA

Abstract

This dissertation research examines the prolonged nuclear stalemate in USA by investigating “the NIMBY syndrome” or the local opposition to spent nuclear fuel siting policy options from a public policy perspective. Nuclear energy production in general and nuclear waste disposal in particular is a highly contentious debate and a partisan policy issue that has evolved through many years. Using a range of quantitative analyses of cross-sectional data as well as data over time, I find evidence for localized nuclear opposition to result in reshaping the political landscape in terms of citizen partisan and ideological dispositions in the state of Nevada. The analyses of a nationwide representative sample of respondents reveal increased risk perceptions in nuclear waste transportation over time negatively affects public support for SNF deep geologic disposal five years later. Likewise, increased benefit perceptions in reduced mining is likely to lead an above average support for SNF onsite storage policy option 1 year later. While the nuclear impasse in its essence is a tangle of governance problems and management processes, its resolution seems far-fetched. The findings of this dissertation imply that changes in public perceptions and awareness in the long run may result in policy change.