The Politics of Radioactive Waste Management

This book provides a timely guide on public involvement in radioactive waste management, and challenges practitioners and scholars to rethink the governance of this wicked socio-technical problem. With its rich, empirical material and interdisciplinary appeal, it will engage all those interested in environmental policy and conflict resolution more in general. -- Valerie Pattyn, Assistant Professor in Public Administration, Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, the Netherlands. Gianluca Ferraro does an excellent job of alerting us to questions that need resolving in 'wicked' policy areas. This book draws out important lessons for scholarship on environmental governance and on the quality of democracy. Policymakers across governance levels and policy fields need to read this book to reflect on effective and legitimate long-term policy planning. -- Claire Dupont, Assistant Professor of European and International Governance, Ghent University, Belgium. Though the book itself concentrates on radioactive waste management, the insights provided by it on public involvement in EU decision-making processes have broader ramifications. Social acceptance of policies is not simply generated because citizens can be involved in the decision-making process, especially in safety related matters. This complexity is well-explained, and well-analyzed throughout the different chapters. -- Joery Matthys, Assistant Professor, Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University, the Netherlands.