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Political ideology and nuclear energy: Perception, proximity, and trust

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  • Mark K. McBeth
  • Megan Warnement Wrobel
  • Irene van Woerden

Abstract

Political ideology is an increasingly powerful force in support of public policy. Historically, nuclear energy has found more support among political conservatives. This study updates the literature on political ideology and support for nuclear energy by examining how political ideology is associated with perceptions of nuclear energy and trust of nuclear information sources. After excluding participants with incomplete data, and participants within 50 miles of a nuclear reactor, the analytical sample size for the analysis examining political ideology and perceptions of nuclear energy was 4153. The analytical sample includes a total of 1035 participants within a 50‐mile radius of INL, 710 participants from within Idaho who lived further than 50 miles from INL, 1899 participants from other states (more than 50 miles from a nuclear reactor), and 509 Non‐Idaho participants living within 50 miles of a nuclear reactor. Logistic regression was used to determine how political ideology was associated with perceptions of nuclear energy and trust in different sources regarding radioactive waste, after controlling for demographics and location. While liberal participants near INL were less favorable towards nuclear energy, and more trusting in impact scientists to tell the truth about radioactive waste than their conservative counterparts, this was not consistent across the US. Our findings reveal the complexity of political ideology and the perceptions of nuclear issues and how proximity influences perceptions. The perceptions of political moderates were particularly important in providing a more complex understanding of political ideology and nuclear energy issues. 政治意识形态是支持公共政策的日益强大的力量。核能历来在政治保守派中得到更多的支持。本研究通过分析政治意识形态如何与核能感知及核信息源信任相联系,进而对有关政治意识形态和支持核能的文献作贡献。在排除数据不完整的参与者和核反应堆50英里范围内的参与者后,用于分析政治意识形态和核能感知的分析样本量为4153。分析样本包括爱达荷国家实验室(INL)50英里半径范围内的1035名参与者,710名居住在距离INL50英里以外地区的参与者,1899名来自其他州的参与者(居住地点距离核反应堆超过50英里),以及509居住在核反应堆50英里范围内的非爱达荷州参与者。在控制人口统计因素和位置因素后,使用逻辑回归,确定政治意识形态如何与核能感知以及“对关于放射性废物的不同来源的信任”相联系。尽管INL附近的自由派参与者不太支持核能,并且比保守派更相信有影响力的科学家所传播的放射性废物真相,但这并非在美国各地都如此。我们的研究结果揭示了政治意识形态的复杂性、核问题感知、以及邻近性如何影响感知。政治温和派的感知对“提供关于政治意识形态与核问题的更复杂的理解”一事尤为重要。 La ideología política es una fuerza cada vez más poderosa en apoyo de las políticas públicas. Históricamente, la energía nuclear ha encontrado más apoyo entre los conservadores políticos. Este estudio actualiza la literatura sobre ideología política y apoyo a la energía nuclear al examinar cómo la ideología política está asociada con las percepciones de la energía nuclear y la confianza en las fuentes de información nuclear. Después de excluir a los participantes con datos incompletos y los participantes dentro de las 50 millas de un reactor nuclear, el tamaño de la muestra analítica para el análisis que examinó la ideología política y las percepciones de la energía nuclear fue de 4153. La muestra analítica incluye un total de 1035 participantes dentro de un radio de 50 millas de INL, 710 participantes de Idaho que vivían a más de 50 millas de INL, 1899 participantes de otros estados (a más de 50 millas de un reactor nuclear) y 509 Participantes que no sean de Idaho y que vivan a menos de 50 millas de un reactor nuclear. Se utilizó la regresión logística para determinar cómo se asociaba la ideología política con las percepciones de la energía nuclear y la confianza en diferentes fuentes con respecto a los desechos radiactivos, después de controlar la demografía y la ubicación. Si bien los participantes liberales cerca de INL eran menos favorables a la energía nuclear y más confiados en los científicos de impacto para decir la verdad sobre los desechos radiactivos que sus contrapartes conservadoras, esto no fue consistente en los EE. UU. Nuestros hallazgos revelan la complejidad de la ideología política y las percepciones de los problemas nucleares y cómo la proximidad influye en las percepciones. Las percepciones de los políticos moderados fueron particularmente importantes para proporcionar una comprensión más compleja de la ideología política y las cuestiones nucleares.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark K. McBeth & Megan Warnement Wrobel & Irene van Woerden, 2023. "Political ideology and nuclear energy: Perception, proximity, and trust," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(1), pages 88-118, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:revpol:v:40:y:2023:i:1:p:88-118
    DOI: 10.1111/ropr.12489
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pablo Fernández-Arias & Álvaro Antón-Sancho & Georgios Lampropoulos & Diego Vergara, 2024. "Emerging Trends and Challenges in Pink Hydrogen Research," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Nils C. Bandelow & Johanna Hornung & Ilana Schröder, 2023. "Policy responses and public reactions to risks," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(1), pages 6-9, January.
    3. Grace Dehner & Mark K. McBeth & Rae Moss & Irene van Woerden, 2023. "A Zero-Carbon Nuclear Energy Future? Lessons Learned from Perceptions of Climate Change and Nuclear Waste," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-16, February.

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