Engaging the Atom : The History of Nuclear Energy and Society in Europe from the 1950s to the Present

With the aim of overcoming the disciplinary and national fragmentation that characterizes much research on nuclear energy, Engaging the Atom brings together specialists from a variety of fields to analyze comparative case studies across Europe and the United States. It explores evolving relationships between society and the nuclear sector from the origins of civilian nuclear power until the present, asking why nuclear energy has been more contentious in some countries than in others and why some countries have never gone nuclear, or have decided to phase out nuclear, while their neighbors have committed to the so-called nuclear renaissance. Contributors examine the challenges facing the nuclear sector in the context of aging reactor fleets, pressing climate urgency, and increasing competition from renewable energy sources.

Written by leading academics in their respective disciplines, the nine chapters of Engaging the Atom place the evolution of nuclear energy within a broader set of national and international configurations, including its role within policies and markets.

Arne Kaijser is professor emeritus of history of technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.

Markku Lehtonen is Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.

Jan-Henrik Meyer is an associate professor at the Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen.

Mar Rubio-Varas is professor of economic history at the Universidad Publica de Navarra.