Chain reaction : expert debate and public participation in American commercial nuclear power, 1945-1975

Chain Reaction seeks to explain how and why America came to depend so heavily on its experts after World War II, how those experts translated that authority into political clout, and why that authority and political discretion declined in the 1970s. Brian Balogh's pathbreaking research into the internal memoranda of the Atomic Energy Commission substantiates his arguments in impressive historical detail. Brian Balogh traces a chain reaction by examining the case of commercial nuclear power. For those interested solely in their crucial policy area, the book provides a wealth of new information and insights. The author's extensive research is the first independently to probe into the highly classified internal memoranda of the Atomic Energy Commission. 'This book is much more than a case study of nuclear power policy in the US ... (it) combines historical research with an expert understanding of the literature on bureaucracy, on the roles of scientists in the policy process, and on the policy economy of post-industrial policy-making.' Political Studies Path-breaking research into the Atomic Energy Commission's internal memorandum files supports this text's explanation of how and why America came to depend so heavily on its experts after World War II and why their authority and political clout declined in the 1970s Expertise has played an increasingly important role in modern American politics.