Institutional responses to different perceptions of risk

In the aftermath of Three Mile Island, one of the key questions is how institutions can best respond to the accident and to the new reality it has wrought. The analysis is structured in terms of three major questions: (1) is nuclear power compatible with democratic institutions, (2) should institutions consider the large differences between the public's and the experts' assessment of risk; If so, how is this best done, (3) is a societal consensus on nuclear power possible. If not, what are the institutional implications. After considering each of these questions, one possible pathway out of the impasse on nuclear energy is proposed