Nuclear Energy, Value Conflicts, and the Legitimacy of Political Decisions: the Rise and Fall of an Alleged Justification for Violent Civil Disobedience (From Terrorism, Protest and Power, P 96-105, 1990, Martin Warner and Roger Crisp, eds. -- See NCJ-130873)

• NCJ Number: 130880
• Author(s): H Hayry; M Hayry
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Avebury Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The argument presented by Malaska and Kasanen in their report on decisionmaking regarding energy policies in Finland does not support their conclusion that democratic decisions supporting nuclear energy would justify violent civil disobedience against the use of nuclear energy.

Abstract

Their report argued that standard democratic decisionmaking procedures work properly only when a consensus on values exists. It further argues that the value conflicts regarding nuclear energy mean that democratic decisionmaking processes do not work properly and thus that active resistance to decisions to use more nuclear energy is justified. Although it is possible to counter many types of challenges to the premises of this argument, doing so undermines their ability to support the conclusion that civil disobedience against nuclear energy is justified. A consideration of the arguments surrounding both nuclear energy and abortion supports this conclusion. 2 notes