Enerji politikası yapımında itici ve kısıtlayıcı faktörler: Nükleer enerji tercihini açıklamak

With energy security concerns on one side, increasing pressure for proactive policies against the climate change on the other side, most countries struggle for managing their energy profiles in the most efficient way and include alternative resources into their energy mix. Among alternative resources, nuclear energy is one of the most contested resources, for which the striking divide between the opponents and proponents is deeper than in any other energy resource. Heated debates about nuclear energy content the intricate discussion of a variety of advantages and risks which applies to every country. However, the way these factors are interpreted changes significantly as revealed by states' divergent nuclear energy policies. Given limited number of studies about the causes and effects of civilian nuclear programs, the literature needs analytical frameworks about the patterns and interactions of major factors which lead to different nuclear energy policy preferences, in order to meaningfully interpret the global nuclear expansion or stagnation. This study focuses on the underlying forces in energy policy-making from the stand point of nuclear energy. The research investigates the causal mechanisms regarding pushing and constraining factors in nuclear energy policy-making and targets to find out which elements are separately necessary or jointly sufficient to affect a state's nuclear energy policy. Moreover, the study seeks to answer how the risks and advantages of nuclear are transformed into a state's decision, by providing a deeper look at socio-political dynamics in the intersection of national and international levels. In order to decipher the complex mechanisms in nuclear energy policy-making, the study presents an analytical comparison of France, Germany and Turkey, with three different nuclear energy stories. The data is collected from the fieldwork conducted in these three cases via semi-structured interviews with high-level experts. The findings are based on a multimethod analysis using MAXQDA. By offering an analytical mapping and a policy framework on nuclear energy policy-making, the research aims to contribute the literature on comparative politics, on public policy-making in the realm of energy and on understanding political aspects of low-carbon resources in the wake of global energy transition.