CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Matyas, Eszter Eva |
|---|---|
| Title | Nuclear Path Dependency: The Construction of Nuclear Energy Legitimacy in Hungary Through Discourse across Political Regimes from the 1940s until 2022 |
| Summary | This dissertation offers lessons on how nuclear energy legitimacy was constructed and contested through political and public discourse in the history of Hungary from the 1940s until 2022 across different political regimes and how historical events and geopolitical dependencies shaped this legitimacy. The case of Hungary presents the ever-changing socially constructed nature of legitimacy and offers lessons on how past decisions can create legitimacy that constrain future political actions. The different political regimes construct and contest nuclear energy legitimacy through discourse, framing it as a national priority, a symbol of progress, or an economic necessity, depending on the political regime and context. In Hungary’s case, while historical decisions have strongly influenced the path of nuclear energy, individual political choices and events, such as the shift in political ideology after 2010, also shaped the country’s nuclear energy discourse. This illustrates how initial decisions and alignments can set the stage for future political actions and reactions, creating a path-dependent process that shapes policy outcomes over time. The Kádár regime’s relationship with the Soviet Union determined Hungary’s continued commitment to Russian nuclear technology. This historical trajectory created a path-dependent relationship that continued during the democratic and hybrid regimes. The decision to expand the Paks Nuclear Power Plant plant with Russian technology in the hybrid regime presents how Hungary’s historical decisions influenced the country’s present policies, even with the presence of political opposition discourse that contested the geopolitical influence of Russia. Analyzing the nuclear energy discourse in Hungary through the frameworks of legitimacy, discourse, and path dependency, the dissertation provides insights into how political regime ideologies and historical events influence nuclear energy legitimacy and how discourse served as an essential tool in constructing and contesting this legitimacy over time. |
| Supervisor | Illes, Zoltan |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/matyas_eszter-eva.pdf |
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