The central theme in this master?s thesis is the tension between attempts
aimed at phasing out the nuclear option and the resistance of the implied
sociotechnical structures to this fundamental change. With the term
nuclear option I mean the choice of a particular country for the generation
of electricity by means of nuclear fission. This study is inspired by
an empirical question: why is the intention of certain counties to phase
out the nuclear option so difficult to realize. This intention is constantly
the object of debate. This is shown by the delay of the planned decommissioning
of the Barsebäck-plant in Sweden, the statements of the director of
Electrabel (the company that manages the Belgian nuclear plants) that
the plants will not be closed on the dates that were dictated by the
Belgian government and by the fact that the Borssele-plant in the Netherlands
is still up and running despite a parliamentary decree dictating the
closure of the plant on 31st of December 2003. Did policymakers responsible
for the decision to phase out make a mistake concerning the constructability
of reality? Why is it so difficult to change the technological status
quo? What factors play a role in this resistance? These questions form
the core of this study.
To answer these questions I make use of the theoretical work of Anique
Hommels. In her doctoral thesis Unbuilding Cities: Obduracy in Urban
Sociotechnical Change she poses similar questions in relation to urban
structures. Why are certain urban structures so hard to change? This
resistance to change is expressed in the notion of obduracy. Hommels
identifies four causations of this obduracy, which she expresses in
four theoretical categories: 1) material obduracy, 2) obduracy caused
by dominant ways of thinking, 3) obduracy as constituted by embeddedness,
and 4) obduracy explained by persistent traditions. These notions she
derives from the interdisciplinary research field of Science Technology
and Society studies (STS).
I have applied three of these concepts to the attempts in the Netherlands
to end the nuclear option. I have not applied the concept persistent
traditions because after a preliminary investiga-tion I could not identify
factors in the obduracy of the Dutch nuclear option relating to this
concept.