Atomic narratives: epistemologies of nuclear energy risk in Italy

Abstract

The paper presents the preliminary results of a research on the social definitions of nuclear risk in Italy, conducted through discursive interviews with subjects with different roles and competences. The narratives highlight two opposing epistemologies – one objectivist and the other perceptive – that confront each other in a highly polarised discursive field in which the reframing of nuclear power and the very concept of sustainability takes shape.