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Fessenheim: A Nuclear Power Plant for Peace
Södertörn University, School of Historical and Contemporary Studies, Ethnology.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5100-9337
2020 (English)In: Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research, E-ISSN 2000-1525, Vol. 12, no 3, p. 569-589Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper explores the construction of a nuclear power facility at Fessenheim, Alsace, and its role in the remaking of French-German post-war relations and the consolidation of the post-war peacebuilding process. The siting and materiality of nuclear energy technology, I argue, was a key component of the top-down peace-building strategy that guided reconciliation processes at the national and regional levels. This study analyses archival documents, newspapers' articles, interviews with Alsatian antinuclear activists, and amateur films in order to reconstruct how the site for a joint nuclear power plant at Fessenheim was chosen and how it affected cross-border interactions. Although the planning of a French-German nuclear facility at Fessenheim embodied the appeasement that characterised post-war relations at a governmental level between the two nations, its construction had limited impact on the regional reconciliation processes. However, the site of the nuclear plant became central for reconciliation in ways that industry planners did not foresee: opposition to the nuclearization of the Upper Rhine Valley became the driving force for the cross-border reconciliation process. This grassroots mobilisation against the presence of nuclear technology formed the nexus for transcending the legacy of World War II through cooperation toward a common, anti-nuclear future.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping University Electronic Press, 2020. Vol. 12, no 3, p. 569-589
Keywords [en]
Nuclear power plants, peacebuilding, post-war nuclearization, grassroots mobilisation, World War II legacy, cross-border reconciliation
National Category
Ethnology
Research subject
Historical Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-43943DOI: 10.3384/cu.v12i3.1057Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85101172266OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-43943DiVA, id: diva2:1525855
Projects
Nuclear Heritage goes critical
Funder
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, P16-0684:1Available from: 2021-02-04 Created: 2021-02-04 Last updated: 2025-10-07Bibliographically approved

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Fröhlig, Florence

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • harvard-anglia-ruskin-university
  • apa-old-doi-prefix.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-harvard.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-oxford.csl
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf