Abstract
In this article, we explore civil society mobilisation and the impact of organised interests on the energy policies of two post-communist countries—Hungary and Czechia—and specifically nuclear energy. Drawing on numerous hypotheses from the literature on organised interests, we explore how open both political systems are for civil society input and what interest group-specific and socio-economic factors mediate the influence of organised interests. Based on the preference attainment method, our case studies focus on the extent to which organised interests have succeeded bringing nuclear energy legislation in line with their preferences. We find that while both democracies are open to civil society input, policy-making is generally conducted in state-industrial circles, whereby anti-nuclear and renewable energy advocates are at best able to make minor corrections to already pre-determined policies.
Highlights
We explore civil society mobilisation in two post-communist countries, Czechia and Hungary, while analysing the impact of organised interests on nuclear energy policy-making
Drawing on the well-established literature on interest groups (Dür, 2008; Eising, 2008; Klüver, 2013), we explore the following research question: How open are post-communist political systems for civil society input and what factors condition the influence of interest groups on nuclear energy policy? Taking inspiration from Kitschelt’s (1986) study on anti-nuclear movements in western democracies, we assess the accessibility of postcommunist political systems for interest groups and highlight the factors which have increased or hampered the impact of anti-nuclear movements
Keeping these significant research advancements in mind, we propose a study which applies the perspectives of civil society mobilisation and interest intermediation to post-communist energy policy-making
Summary
We explore civil society mobilisation in two post-communist countries, Czechia and Hungary, while analysing the impact of organised interests on nuclear energy policy-making. Due to the historical oppression of democratic mobilisation and the communist system’s heavy burden on civil society, it is crucial to assess—almost three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall—whether and which organised interests have shaped post-communist policies Against this background, this article focusses on the design of interest intermediation structures and, the actual influence of organised interests on recent nuclear energy legislation in Hungary and Czechia. Our analysis reveals that statist arrangements with some corporatist elements have emerged, whereby governments strongly incorporate nuclear energy providers into official policy-making, resulting in formidable state-industry alliances to the detriment renewable energies groups
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