Civic activism and petition politics in energy transitions: Discursive tactics, networking, and media mobilization in an anti-nuclear movement in China

Abstract

Anti-nuclear movements play an important role globally in shaping low-carbon energy transition. However, the complexity of the politics involved implies that such social movements evolve differently under different national contexts. This paper conducts a case study of a major anti-nuclear movement against the Pengze inland nuclear power project in Jiangxi Province, China. It develops the concept of petition politics, a less confrontational form of citizen-led activism wherein local activists seek support from the central government. Drawing on primary data collected from 17 in-depth interviews and three focus group meetings, our case study illustrates how four retired local cadres were able to influence nuclear governance through mobilizing critical resources for petitioning. We found that three key strategies of petition politics were deployed, which include: (1) the deployment of a discursive tactic; (2) the mobilization of political and social networks to gain access to national policy-making; and (3) the combined mobilization of mass media and social media to reframe a narrative to mobilize multiple stakeholders. We argue that although the anti-nuclear movement has improved the representativeness, inclusiveness, and rationality of nuclear governance, it has limits in scaling up the locally grown petitions to achieve greater impacts at the national level. We therefore call for improving nuclear risk governance in China through integrating petition complaints process and local deliberative governance practice.