Mobilising Modernity: The Nuclear Moment

by Welsh; Ian

• ISBN13: 9780415047913
• ISBN10: 0415047919
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-10-19
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

During the nuclear heyday of the post-war years, advocates of atomic power promised cheap electricity and a prosperous future. From the present, however, this promise seems tarnished by accidents, leaks and a lack of public confidence.Mobilising Modernitytraces this journey from confidence in technology to the anxieties of the Risk Society questioning a number of conventional wisdoms en route. Paying close attention to social, political and policy aspects throughout, this book considers: * the nuclear moment from global collaborative project at Los Alamos to fragmented, bitterly competing projects * the 'atomic science movement's' use of symbolic resources to win national ascendancy * the implications of secrecy and the establishment of quasi-commercial organizations within the nuclear industry. This fascinating study also argues for the ongoing importance of the non-violent direct action groups that flourished during the 1970s, showing their continuing influence on today's newsocial movements. Welsh concludes by considering the implications of this historically based account for contemporary issues of risk and trust on current policy-making.

Author Biography

Ian Welsh lectures in sociology in Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences.

Table of Contents

List of figures	viii
Acknowledgements	ix
List of acronyms	x
Introduction	1	(33)
The nuclear moment	34	(34)
Resisting the juggernaut: opposition in the 1950s	68	(27)
Accidents will happen	95	(23)
Modernity's mobilisation stalls	118	(32)
The moment of direct action	150	(33)
Networking: direct action and collective refusal	183	(23)
Conclusions	206	(22)
Notes	228	(16)
Bibliography	244	(12)
Author index	256	(3)
Subject index	259