China’s civil nuclear power programme is a sensitive topic which has seldom been researched by social or political scientists inside or outside of China. In the past, public participation activities in relation to nuclear power issues in China were rare. However, in 2005, when the central government decided to promote civil nuclear development and build 40 more nuclear reactors within the next 20 years, the public started to become aware of the potential environmental risks that might be caused by nuclear power sites. Based on six months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2007-2008, this thesis represents the first in-depth study of local people’s ways of participation concerning a potential inland nuclear power project in China. It provides rich empirical materials to illustrate local people’s differing perceptions of nuclear power and its risks. The thesis reviews developments in the sociological theorisation of ‘risk’ and, by bringing this body of literature into dialogue with the empirical case study, explores its possibilities and limitations as a means of understanding the social construction of risk in contemporary China. In exploring the social, cultural and political context of risk construction, it illustrates how political power and social status influence local people’s participation in nuclear power issues. It also demonstrates that citizens’ growing environmental risk awareness helps to create space within which they can make their voices heard and, simultaneously, that generating open spaces for people to express their opinions helps to shape their awareness of environmental risk. The central conclusion of the analysis is that, in the context of Chinese society political power, by which I mean policy makers’ ideology and all levels of governments, plays a particularly crucial role in the definition, management and governance of nuclear risk.

Cette thèse s’intéresse à la question de la participation et du rôle du public dans la gouvernance des risques nucléaires. La question de recherche principale de la thèse est la suivante : comment un public potentiellement impacté par des activités à haut risque, parvient à se constituer en acteur social qui participe activement à leur gouvernance ? Grâce à une étude de cas, la thèse explore comment, à travers le temps, des acteurs de la société civile, progressivement institutionnalisés par le biais des Commissions Locales d’Information (CLI1), peuvent avoir des effets sur la gouvernance du risque nucléaire en France. La thèse se demande également si les différentes parties prenantes du nucléaire en France souhaitent réellement arriver à une compréhension partagée des situations et des enjeux. / This dissertation contributes to these debates by exploring the conditions in which people potentially impacted by nuclear activities can become active participants in the governance of such high-risk industries, and how they can organize themselves and build a common voice. Its chapters, each with their own focus, also shed light on changes in the roles of the nuclear stakeholders who have dealings with this public. Finally, this dissertation analyses the potential impacts for safety governance in such organizations.

Com a necessidade de novas formas de produção de energia para conter a crise ambiental e o aquecimento global, novas tecnologias têm sido estudadas e a energia nuclear foi apontada como uma das saídas para a produção de energia limpa. O estudo do risco está diretamente relacionado ao estudo de sua percepção, que determina a maneira de agir do ser humano e, portanto influencia na aplicação de novas tecnologias, uma vez que o reconhecimento de algo como perigoso é determinado por fatores sócio históricos. Este estudo teve como objetivo comparar as percepções de risco nuclear e ambiental, em um grupo de estudantes universitários, com a aplicação de uma pesquisa, no período de 31 de março a 31 de maio de 2010, contendo: imagens de fatos históricos para serem nomeados; estruturação de uma escala de risco para determinadas atividades; e um questionário sobre riscos e benefícios relacionados ao tema da pesquisa. A análise dos resultados evidenciou uma diminuição da percepção do risco nuclear em relação ao risco ambiental na população estudada. / With the necessity for new forms of energy production to contain the environmental crisis and the global warming, new technologies have been studied and the nuclear energy has been placed as one of the ways out for clean energy production. The study of the risk is directly related to the study of its perception, that determines the human beings actions, therefore it influences in new technologies applications, since the awareness of something as dangerous is determined by socio-historical factors. The purpose of this study was compare the perceptions of nuclear and environmental risks, considering a group of university students, with the application of research in the period from March 31 to May 31, 2010, containing: images of historical facts to be nominated; structuring of a risk scale for certain activities, and a questionnaire about risks and benefits related to the subject research. The analysis of results evidenced a reduction in the perception of nuclear risk over the perception of environmental risk in this population.

Com a necessidade de novas formas de produção de energia para conter a crise ambiental e o aquecimento global, novas tecnologias têm sido estudadas e a energia nuclear foi apontada como uma das saídas para a produção de energia limpa. O estudo do risco está diretamente relacionado ao estudo de sua percepção, que determina a maneira de agir do ser humano e, portanto influencia na aplicação de novas tecnologias, uma vez que o reconhecimento de algo como perigoso é determinado por fatores sócio históricos. Este estudo teve como objetivo comparar as percepções de risco nuclear e ambiental, em um grupo de estudantes universitários, com a aplicação de uma pesquisa, no período de 31 de março a 31 de maio de 2010, contendo: imagens de fatos históricos para serem nomeados; estruturação de uma escala de risco para determinadas atividades; e um questionário sobre riscos e benefícios relacionados ao tema da pesquisa. A análise dos resultados evidenciou uma diminuição da percepção do risco nuclear em relação ao risco ambiental na população estudada. / With the necessity for new forms of energy production to contain the environmental crisis and the global warming, new technologies have been studied and the nuclear energy has been placed as one of the ways out for clean energy production. The study of the risk is directly related to the study of its perception, that determines the human beings actions, therefore it influences in new technologies applications, since the awareness of something as dangerous is determined by socio-historical factors. The purpose of this study was compare the perceptions of nuclear and environmental risks, considering a group of university students, with the application of research in the period from March 31 to May 31, 2010, containing: images of historical facts to be nominated; structuring of a risk scale for certain activities, and a questionnaire about risks and benefits related to the subject research. The analysis of results evidenced a reduction in the perception of nuclear risk over the perception of environmental risk in this population.