Continuation of operation and shutdown of nuclear power plants in relation to the former Soviet Union in Finland and former East Germany after the Chernobyl accident

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K01984
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Area studies
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Sato Nagako 大阪大学, 国際公共政策研究科, 招へい研究員 (20748264)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 木戸 衛一 大阪大学, 国際公共政策研究科, 准教授 (70204930)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 原発 / チェルノブイリ原発事故

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study revealed that contrasting political cultures surrounding nuclear power have been observed in Finland and West Germany after the Chernobyl accident. This difference in political cultures partly originated from the East-West confrontation during the Cold War. In Germany, the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), which facilitated nuclear armament, was pursued until 1989 and often spurred opposition movements. Finland, in contrast, renounced reprocessing in 1980. It can be noted that the two countries’ different scales of anti-nuclear movements also stemmed from their political environments.
These discoveries are expected to be made public in the 70th Annual Congress of Western History, held in December 2020, and as a chapter in the book to be published in 2021.

Free Research Field

西欧政治史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、フィンランドとドイツにおける原子力利用の相違の原因を探った。冷戦に関する既存研究では、しばしば両陣営が対照的に論じられがちだが、本研究では、旧ソ連製原発という共通の素材を媒介にして、「東西の狭間」における原子力の趨勢を問うた。加えて、日本では、チェルノブイリ事故の後で旧ソ連製原発には終止符がうたれたかのような誤解があり、フィンランドで現在も旧ソ連製原発が継続して運用されていることはあまり知られていない。それゆえ、本研究で対象とするのは、多くの人によって自明とされている「冷戦は西 側の勝利に終わった」という「常識」に異義を唱える事例といえる。