Aim: The nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, raised global criticism against nuclear power. In Sweden, the criticism has not been very visible and the government now allows a renewal of the nuclear power plants. The purpose with the study is to have a closer look on how Swedes in position of power motivate their positive attitude to nuclear power and how they conduct themselves to each other and to their opponents. The rhetorical perspective will be in focus for the analysing.

Method: Four different artifacts represented by Swedes in position of power having a positiveattitude to nuclear power were chosen. Three rhetorical theories (the rhetorical arena, stasis andethos, pathos and logos) were used with the research question in focus.

Result & Conclusions: The analyses resulted in conclusions about the strategies used by the participants such as: the importance of contexts, meaning for example that the greenhouse effect legitimizes nuclear power as a source of energy with important benefits. Redefining the meaning of key words such as “environment friendly”. Using authority, emotions and knowledge as a way to persuade.

Suggestions for future research: It would be interesting to go further with the fundamental values and ideologies which seem to have an important role in the Swedish nuclear power debate.

Contribution of the thesis: This study has hopefully brought new light on the nuclear power debate and can be a contribution to a broader understanding how to bring more nuance and transparency to it.