A comparative analysis of the local geopolitics of nuclear power in Germany, France and Sweden

The Fukushima atomic disaster had different political fallouts in the thirty-one countries where nuclear power is exploited. In Europe, while Germany decided to accelerate the phase-out engaged ten years before, the Swedish government repealed the moratorium on new nuclear reactors introduced in 1981 and France only committed to reduce marginally the share of nuclear electricity. Three European countries, facing the same event, took three different directions. In the past, differences between countries' nuclear policies have been explained by economic, geographical or cultural determinism. This work offers to go beyond these approaches and to consider energy policies as the result of power struggles between opponents and supporters of atomic energy who fight to control the territory. Thanks to the local geopolitical approach, this thesis aims at highlighting the rivalries and the representation which structure the actors' systems in each country as well as the strategies used in the conflict. In a context where nuclear energy is portrayed as a potential solution to mitigate climate change, the purpose of this work is to identity the elements which led to the elaboration of diametrically opposed energy policies in France, Germany and Sweden. (author)