Nordic Cooperation in the Nuclear Safety Sector: High, Low, or Differentiated Integration?

Kjerstin Kjøndal

doi:10.17645/pag.v8i4.3292

Abstract

Nordic cooperation has been depicted as eroding due to the increased importance of EU-related cooperation and integration. However, scholars propose that longstanding Nordic networks, grounded in professions and located in the state administration, may prove to be more robust toward external changes. This article discusses this proposal by looking at Nordic cooperation between the national radiation protection and nuclear safety authorities in Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The article maps behavioural perceptions of agency staff based on a dataset of 37 interviews to illustrate if the cooperation between the Nordic authorities is characterized by high integration, low integration, or differentiated integration within the nuclear safety sector. The study finds that the cooperation is differentiated between the highly integrated areas of radiation protection and emergency preparedness, and the less integrated areas of nuclear security and safeguards. To account for variation, the data indicates the importance of path dependency and portfolio.

Highlights

It has been suggested that the world should look to the Nordic countries in order to build prosperous, wellgoverned, and liberal democracies
The data shows that there are important differences in how the national authorities interact within these different pillars, and there is a continuum ranging from safety issues, like radiation protection and emergency preparedness, where the cooperation is characterized by high integration, whereas in security and safeguards issues, cooperation is marked by low integration
The cooperation on safety can be divided into four different parts: cooperation on radiation protection, emergency preparedness, the Nordic Nuclear Safety Research (NKS), and cooperation on nuclear safety

Summary

Introduction

It has been suggested that the world should look to the Nordic countries in order to build prosperous, wellgoverned, and liberal democracies. The article examines cooperation between the national authorities on radiation protection and nuclear safety in the five Nordic countries of Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The study reflects discussions on differentiated integration (Gänzle, Leruth, & Trondal, 2020) and shows that Nordic cooperation in the nuclear safety sector best can be described as differentiated between the highly integrated safety areas of radiation protection and emergency preparedness, and the less integrated areas of nuclear safety, security, and safeguards. The national authorities in the Nordic countries have portfolios reaching from non-core issues—like radiation protection—to core state issues, such as nuclear security. The study finds that the differentiated cooperation between the Nordic authorities in the nuclear safety sector mirrors the division between non-core portfolios and core-state portfolios.

Theoretical Framework

Data and Method

Empirical Findings

Conclusion and Outlook