The Clash of Risk Perceptions: Reconciling ‘the publics’ and ‘the experts’

The polarisation of risk perceptions between “experts” and “the publics” has been a major challenge in the development and operation of nuclear power plants across the world. For this reason, much research has been dedicated to better understand public risk perceptions. Yet, nuclear developments in India and many countries in developing Asia continue to be mired in conflicts with the public with vastly different sets of concerns, priorities, and interests that seem irreconcilable with those of the nuclear industry. This calls for a different perspective, and perhaps a broader approach, to understanding the apparent clash of risk perceptions between “experts” and “the publics”. Presenting original data collected from interviews with the nuclear establishment and civil society stakeholders in India, this chapter focuses on the points of convergences and divergences between the two groups. The goal here is not simply to present ‘the other side of the story’ and thus to emphasise polarisations between the two groups. It instead seeks to explore the full range of alternative perceptions evident through the interviews and thence to unpack and challenge practices through which nuclear risk comes to be seen as a straightforward clash of disparate risk perceptions. With this approach, the voices of moderation on both sides start to emerge, illuminating important conversations that can help depolarise the nuclear debate.