ABSTRACT
In Western Europe, the major expansion of nuclear power began in the early 1970s and sharply rose after the OPEC price increases of 1973. As nuclear power became an important priority, it generated a significant protest movement. The comparison between France and Germany highlights the structural relationships between the life cycle of a social movement and policymaking, as the movement emerges as a response to a drastic policy decision and mobilizes against it. As criticism of nuclear policy developed throughout Europe, only a few countries—Austria, and Norway—had the option to renounce this technological choice. Austria is the only country in the world where politics has led to discontinued nuclear policies, at least temporarily. Public ownership characterizes the energy sector in all European countries; even where there are private utilities, through shareholding, have had a decisive stake in the promotion of nuclear power. Macrosociological analysis of the nuclear controversy suggests that structural and procedural cross-country differences largely account for different policies.
