Radiation or Riots: Risk Perception in Nuclear Power Decision Making and Deliberative Approaches to Resolving Stakeholder Conflict

A grounded theory study of interviewees associated with the recent decision by the U.K. government to reconsider nuclear power generation indicates a fundamental causal factor in stakeholder conflict. Despite shared themes evident in the primary data, stakeholders participating in the decision-making process find it difficult to reach an accommodation, not so much because of allegiance to specific power sources, but because power sources are preferred when they mitigate the risks of most concern. Individuals prioritize risks differently in accordance with their own risk perception, and a power source preferred by one stakeholder as mitigation of their highest priority risk is in itself an intolerable risk for another stakeholder. The report considers a deliberative approach as a prospective means of resolving this quandary.