Carnation Atoms? A History of Nuclear Energy in Portugal

Abstract

Drawing upon the concepts of civic epistemologies and sociotechnical imaginaries, this article delves into the history of nuclear energy in Portugal, analyzing the ways in which the nuclear endeavor was differently enacted by various sociopolitical collectives-the Fascist State, post-revolutionary governments and the public. Following the 1974 revolution-known as the Carnation Revolution-this paper analyzes how the nuclear project was fiercely contested by a vibrant antinuclear movement assembled against the construction of the Ferrel Nuclear Plant, the first sociotechnical controversy in Portugal, paving the way for the emergence of a combative civic epistemology. Supported by semi-structured interviews with scientists, activists and local residents of Ferrel and the analysis of historical material, this article presents the failed Portuguese nuclear endeavor as an emblematic case study to explore the co-production of science and society, in particular the role of revolutionary processes in the unfolding of sociotechnical controversies.

Democracy in a deluge: Epistemic agency of marginalized voices in Oaxaca's storm governance

“…Yet, recently scholars have begun to examine how political communities at the subnational scale (Tironi et al, 2013), activists (Pereira et al, 2018; Haines, 2019), subaltern groups (Haines, 2020), and politically marginalized communities (Forsyth, 2019a) engage with CEs. For example, Haines (2019) shows how nuclear activists in India draw upon CEs to make their claims heard by powerful state authorities, while Forsyth's (2019b) analysis of forest governance in Thailand shows how in the context of an essentially authoritarian regime, forest communities bought into reductive socio-epistemic codes to make their needs heard.…”