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Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea: Public Ideas ... - IMO

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182 Chapter 10<br />

th<strong>at</strong> sea disposal is an environmentally neutral and safe, and perhaps even<br />

an environmentally preferable, disposal option for this radioactive waste. 9<br />

It might be argued th<strong>at</strong> the circumscribed role of the regime’s scientific<br />

expertise is a reflection of the public’s fear of radioactivity. Examin<strong>at</strong>ion of<br />

other intern<strong>at</strong>ional environmental issues might conclude th<strong>at</strong> intern<strong>at</strong>ional<br />

public opinion sometimes is a weak source of influence. <strong>Public</strong> opinion,<br />

n<strong>at</strong>ional and intern<strong>at</strong>ional, may also be divided on and even in<strong>at</strong>tentive to<br />

particular issues. 10 Nevertheless, as I have suggested in this book, whether<br />

this is the case or not will to a significant degree depend on transn<strong>at</strong>ional<br />

policy entrepreneurship and the availability of ideas, images, and metaphors<br />

able to <strong>at</strong>tract public and political <strong>at</strong>tention.<br />

It should be pointed out, finally, th<strong>at</strong> the radwaste disposal issue polarized<br />

countries into basically two groups: a large anti-dumping group and<br />

a much smaller but m<strong>at</strong>erially powerful pro-dumping group. This issue<br />

therefore cre<strong>at</strong>ed a particular dynamic th<strong>at</strong> could explain the political<br />

<strong>at</strong>tractiveness of mor<strong>at</strong>oriums and bans. This is not unimportant in understanding<br />

the dynamics of this issue, but it cannot fully explain the intern<strong>at</strong>ional<br />

policy development in regard to radwaste disposal.<br />

Recommend<strong>at</strong>ions for Research<br />

I have not claimed in this book th<strong>at</strong> power in the m<strong>at</strong>erial sense and interests<br />

are insignificant in regime development, nor th<strong>at</strong> only ide<strong>at</strong>ional factors<br />

m<strong>at</strong>ter. From an ide<strong>at</strong>ional point of view, interests and power clearly<br />

m<strong>at</strong>ter; however, they cannot alone explain the content of specific policies.<br />

It is insufficient to show th<strong>at</strong> a policy s<strong>at</strong>isfies interests; policies have also a<br />

cognitive content. At the same time, ideas and theories alone are not powerful<br />

enough themselves to determine policy development, and ide<strong>at</strong>ional<br />

analysis should therefore not be seen as an altern<strong>at</strong>ive to approaches<br />

emphasizing power and interests. The analytical ambition of regime theory<br />

should be to integr<strong>at</strong>e ideas and interests, r<strong>at</strong>her than to segreg<strong>at</strong>e them. By<br />

focusing on the role of ideas, it is possible to develop auxiliary hypotheses<br />

th<strong>at</strong> supplement well established theories about how power and interests<br />

influence regime development.<br />

It is necessary to carefully examine how, when, and why ideas m<strong>at</strong>ter in<br />

environmental cooper<strong>at</strong>ion and environmental regime development. I have<br />

sought to identify with more precision the conditions under which ideas are

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