EH.N: CfP: Nuclear Energy and Regional Development

[ALAIN BELTRAN]

Nuclear Energy and Regional Development: International Conference, December 11/12, 2008, Tours (France)

Organized by Francois Rabelais University in Tours (France) and Electricite de France Foundation

Electricity supply from nuclear plants in France was a successful solution particularly after the first oil crisis (1973) but many other countries, especially in Europe, chose other ways. Many issues have been put forward to explain this French exception: centralization, role of elites, alliance between unions and technostructure, etc. But these issues have been scarcely observed from a local, regional point of view. When one looks at a map of France, it is obvious that nuclear plants are located in some regions and not in others, for instance in Brittany. We believe it is necessary to consider the whole process of nuclear energy from production to the storage of nuclear waste and to examine regional and local acceptance (i.e. in regions, departements, cities, and villages), if we want to understand the nuclear phenomenon in France. 

Methods and social know-how of the state-owned company (Electricite de France) is not enough to understand events beginning in the 1960s.

The call for papers for an international conference in December 2008 emphasizes new issues about nuclear development in France and also in Europe in order to do relevant comparisons: why a favorable reception here and a fierce resistance elsewhere? What are the consequences of this new geography of energy in France for the state-owned company? Are economic repercussions for local authorities visible in a short term or in a long term dimension? Is nuclear energy a positive image for French regions or only a secondary argument? We would like to insist upon frontier zone (Fessenheim, le Bugey) and to examine points of view from companies, public authorities, citizens from different places involved in nuclear issues, social sciences and, of course, comparisons with countries like Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, and those in Eastern Europe.

The two-day conference could be elaborated around four main themes:

-the point of view of the electricity-supplier and nuclear industry (choice of sites, lobbying, setting up, local development)

-the point of view of country planners and main departments

-the point of view of regions, departements, local councillors, associations, and inhabitants (in favor or against nuclear energy in their neighborhood)

-international comparisons especially in Europe


This conference will take place in Tours (by the river Loire) and we will be happy to join scholars from different disciplines (history, geography, sociology, political science, economics) and also industrial managers, local councillors, and associations. 

Submissions will include a short CV, a 150-word summary (with a provisional title) in English or in French and should to be sent to Yves Bouvier, Secretaire scientifique de la Fondation EDF (yves.bouvier at edf.fr) or Alain Beltran, Directeur de recherche au CNRS (beltran at univ-paris1.fr). The deadline for this call for papers is September, 1, 2008. A scientific committee will give its answer at the end of September 2008.