The virtual seminar will be held from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. (E.T.)
A strong general association can be observed across different countries between strategic military ambitions and the scale of stated plans for new nuclear power. A key indicator is how nuclear energy policy debates are becoming increasingly eccentric in countries possessing or pursuing nuclear arms or military nuclear propulsion. Official data, analyses and positions are strikingly neglectful of unfolding market and technological developments. The additional costs and wider burdens of largely hidden interdependencies between civil and military nuclear infrastructures and supply chains are accelerating threats not only to energy and climate aims, but to the general quality of national policy processes and the health of democracy. This talk will survey the global picture and focus in particular detail on the case of Britain.
About the speakers:
Andy Stirling is Professor of Science and Technology Policy in SPRU at the University of Sussex. Working on issues of power, uncertainty and diversity in science and technology, he has served on many official UK and EU advisory committees. A Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Science, he serves on the Sociology Panel of the UK 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
Phil Johnstone is a Research Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) University of Sussex. His research has broadly focussed on the political and democratic implications of energy transitions and the role of the military in innovation and technological development. He has a long-standing interest in nuclear power.