ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIVISM IN THE USSR AND ITS SUCCESSOR STATES: A SURROGATE FOR NATIONALISM?

In: Environmental politics, Band 4, Heft 3, S. 441-466

Abstract

ANTI-NUCLEAR MOVEMENTS IN ARMENIA, LITHUANIA, UKRAINE, AND RUSSIA -- WHERE THE USSR'S NUCLEAR POWER INSTALLATIONS WERE SITUATED -- BLOSSOMED DURING PERESTROIKA, BUT THIS EXPLOSION OF CONCERN PROVED TO BE SHORT-LIVED. IN THE USSR, ACTIVISTS PURSUING RADICAL, INCLUDING NATIONALIST, AGENDAS OFTEN IMPROVED THEIR ACCESS TO KEY MOBILIZATIONAL RESOURCES BY HIDING BEHIND ISSUES THAT WERE MORE ACCEPTABLE TO POWER-HOLDERS. WITH THE BREAKUP OF THE SOVIET UNION, THE LINK BETWEEN NATIONALIST AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS WAS BROKEN, AND WEAKENED ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS ARE CONFRONTED NOW WITH GOVERNMENTS THAT HAVE A NEW INTEREST IN PROMOTING THE NUCLEAR POWER OPTION.