The Nuclear Necklace: Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and India’s Nuclear Vulnerabilities

Author: Mohd Lateef Mir Research Scholar Dept. of Political Science Aligarh Muslim University

Published On: 2020-12-05

Nuclear power characterized by both high energy density and low-carbon emissions was introduced as an effective source of producing electricity. It is considered as one of the important non-conventional energy source and is expected to play an important role in energy-hungry developing nations. However, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear incident in 2011, gave a setback to global public acceptance of nuclear power and affected public attitudes toward nuclear energy in many countries including India. Existing scholarship explains the skepticism in public opinion on nuclear power in India post-Fukushima by comparing its desirability and use with other energy sources. In this study, the transformation of public opinion about nuclear energy post-Fukushima will be analyzed to determine how different dimensions of attitudes toward nuclear energy changed after the accident. It will also analyze other issues before the nuclear industry which are influencing the general opinion about nuclear energy in India.

Keywords:  Fukushima, Nuclear terrorism, risk management, cyber-attacks.