ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 sets out some theory which we can use to understand the regulatory and policy outcomes. Relevant risk, cultural and regulatory theory are considered. We study the different cultural contexts in order to understand different regulatory outcomes regarding nuclear power in general and nuclear safety in particular. In order to understand and classify these different cultural contexts we use cultural theory and its set of cultural biases.
Countries will experience different combinations of biases in the nuclear regulatory field, so in order to compare the different country case studies we could use a series of metaphors. Ecological modernisation is an accommodation between industry and governments who seek to implement environmental policy demand in the context of economic development. Ecological modernisation can be a plausible metaphor in situations where egalitarian pressures are substantial, with bottom-up actors taking part in decisions directly in the case of ‘strong’ ecological modernisation, whilst ‘weak’ ecological modernisation reserves decision-making to elites. However other country cases may be understood as involving hierarchical or individualist biases as dominant cultural influences.
