In this article we assess public communication on nuclear energy in Poland against four theoretical ideal types of the public sphere in modern democracies. We investigate law, media discourse, and civil society as dimensions of the public sphere, and use the analysis to draw out broader implications for energy transitions. We conclude that although in the legal and civil society realms there are some elements of the participatory liberal type, the current functioning of the public sphere is rather aligned with the representative liberal democracy type and does not further energy transition. The representative liberal type is supported by mainstream media, focused mainly on economic and political elites. This is why initiatives of grassroots movements are not reflected in public discourse, neither in traditional media nor on the Internet. Even if they appear, their impact is limited because of weak exposition. Our research offers reflections on how energy transition may be furthered via the public sphere. The article brings a sociological and socio-legal analysis of the public sphere to energy policy research. By presenting the unique case of potential new nuclear power plant build in Poland, we contribute an integrative view of energy policy as a public governance issue in contemporary Central and East European democracies.

Is energy policy a public issue? Nuclear power in Poland and implications for energy transitions in Central and East Europe

Nuclear power in the United Kingdom

For two decades Hungary, like the other Eastern European countries, followed a general policy of establishing and strengthening the institutions of democracy, rule of law, and a market economy based on private property. However, since the elections of 2010, when Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party came to power, Hungary has made a dramatic U-turn. This article investigates the different spheres of society: political institutions, the rule of law, and the influence of state and market on one another, as well as the world of ideology (education, science and art), and describes the U-turn’s implications for these fields and the effect it has on the life of people. It argues against the frequent misunderstandings in the interpretation and evaluation of the Hungarian situation, pointing out some typical intellectual fallacies. It draws attention to the dangers of strengthening nationalism, and to the ambivalence evident in Hungarian foreign policy, and looks into the relationship between Hungary and the Western world,...

Hungary's U-Turn

In this article, we explore civil society mobilisation and the impact of organised interests on the energy policies of two post-communist countries—Hungary and Czechia—and specifically nuclear energy. Drawing on numerous hypotheses from the literature on organised interests, we explore how open both political systems are for civil society input and what interest group-specific and socio-economic factors mediate the influence of organised interests. Based on the preference attainment method, our case studies focus on the extent to which organised interests have succeeded bringing nuclear energy legislation in line with their preferences. We find that while both democracies are open to civil society input, policy-making is generally conducted in state-industrial circles, whereby anti-nuclear and renewable energy advocates are at best able to make minor corrections to already pre-determined policies.

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Organised Interests in the Energy Sector: A Comparative Study of the Influence of Interest Groups in Czechia and Hungary

COVID-19 has spawned a surge in the number of public epidemic prevention policies. More important than active policy-making is how to increase citizens’ policy compliance willingness. Based on publ...

Two-Way Risk Communication, Public Value Consensus, and Citizens’ Policy Compliance Willingness About COVID-19: Multilevel Analysis Based on Nudge View

This research article analyzes the influence of the "Chernobyl factor" on the nuclear power discourse in Hungary. Despite its temporal distance, the geographical proximity of the Chernobyl disaster has significantly influenced the lives and perceptions of current Hungarian generations. The research examines two layers of public communication regarding the Chernobyl disaster-political discourse and Hungarian online news media-and matches these with the online representation of the catastrophe. This study finds that despite Chernobyl's significant impact on the cultural memory of Hungarian society, it is considered an event of the past with limited relevance for the future. The contemporary representation of Chernobyl reflects the aspirations and expectations of current society, manifests highly mediatized content, nurtures elements of infotainment, symbolizes danger and negligence, and socially reconstructs meaning through alienation from its original connotation. The Chernobyl factor does not appear significantly in current nuclear discourse in Hungary.

Seeing the Unseen: The Chernobyl Imprint on the Hungarian Public Sphere

This article analyzes political narratives of the discourse on the future use of nuclear energy in Hungary. In light of the January 2014 parliamentary decision to expand Hungarian nuclear energy production capacity with Russian technology and financing, the article examines parliamentary addresses of the period 2010–2013 to identify and interpret characteristics and changes in nuclear narratives of parliamentary parties and the government. The content analysis includes identification of framing, characteristics of choice of language, realization of risk and of benefit oriented speaking patterns, and the assessment of power relations between the political actors. The article argues that the nuclear communication strategies of political parties show distinct approaches: full front approach to include nuclear aspects of all possible issues, avoidance that attempts not taking sides in this issue, and re-direction that, within the nuclear framing, places a focus on other aspects with the purpose to re-define the dominant framing and to rule the discourse. Risk awareness patterns range from comprehensive to occasional, selective and latent risk perception structures. The Risk Perception Index, comprehending levels of risk and benefit perception, can serve as a model to measure, in numeric terms, the support or critique of the nuclear agenda.

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Risk perception and political alienism: Political discourse on the future of nuclear energy in Hungary

Both the United Kingdom and Hungary run ambitious nuclear power plans to keep nuclear power as an important element of their energy mixes. The objective of the analysis is to identify if there is the intent and the possibility for a different form of public engagement in shaping the nuclear future. The study builds on the comparative analysis of the cases of Hungary and the United Kingdom. The 'communication packages' theory serves as reference of comparison. The study finds that changing social value sets and communication technology developments create challenges to governments in securing support for the nuclear agenda. This challenge creates an opportunity for members of the public with 'reluctant acceptance' of the nuclear agenda. Building on global uncertainty, challenges to the prevailing political and economic status quo, together with the growing influence of social media might assist the public to become vocal in their opinions about nuclear energy.

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Gábor Sarlós

Papers

Seeing the Unseen: The Chernobyl Imprint on the Hungarian Public Sphere

Risk perception and political alienism: Political discourse on the future of nuclear energy in Hungary

Surpassing the era of disengaged acceptance: The future of public discourse on nuclear energy

Risk and benefit perceptions in the communication narratives of nuclear energy in Hungary