ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the desire for energy security, as the main driving force behind potential nuclear expansion, diminishes states' preparedness to always uphold principles of safe reactor operation. It suggests nuclear safety as an international norm with universal qualities that can nevertheless be challenged by governments. The chapter focuses on Eastern Europe, and Slovakia more specifically, as a case in which issues outside of nuclear safety affected policy decisions on nuclear power plant operation. It considers this primary motivation for state pursuit of nuclear power and argues that the related trade-offs may negatively impact the international nuclear safety regime. The chapter also focuses on the case of Slovakia as a crucial test for the viability of the nuclear safety norm in situations where it contradicts the overarching goals of a secure supply of energy, economic independence, and, by extension, political stability.
