Site Fights

P. Aldrich Daniel

Description

One of the most vexing problems for governments is building controversial facilities that serve the needs of all citizens but have adverse consequences for host communities. Policymakers must decide not only where to locate often unwanted projects but also what methods to use when interacting with opposition groups. In Site Fights, Daniel P. Aldrich gathers quantitative evidence from close to five hundred municipalities across Japan to show that planners deliberately seek out acquiescent and unorganized communities for such facilities in order to minimize conflict. When protests arise over nuclear power plants, dams, and airports, agencies regularly rely on the coercive powers of the modern state, such as land expropriation and police repression. Only under pressure from civil society do policymakers move toward financial incentives and public relations campaigns. Through fieldwork and interviews with bureaucrats and activists, Aldrich illustrates these dynamics with case studies from Japan, France, and the United States. The incidents highlighted in Site Fights stress the importance of developing engaged civil society even in the absence of crisis, thereby making communities both less attractive to planners of controversial projects and more effective at resisting future threats.

Sujets

• Sociology
• Competition (economics)
• Japan

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801458255
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

site fights

Site Fights

Divisive Facilities and Civil Society in Japan and the West

Daniel P. Aldrich

CORNELLUNIVERSITYPRESS ITHACAANDLONDON

Cornell University Press gratefully acknowledges receipt of a grant from the Program on U.S.–Japan Relations and the Reischauer Institute of Harvard University, which aided in the publication of this book.

Copyright © 2008 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2008 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2010 Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Aldrich, Daniel P.  Site fights : divisive facilities and civil society in Japan and the West / Daniel P. Aldrich.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801446191 (cloth : alk. paper)  ISBN 9780801476228 (pbk. : alk. paper)  1. Industrial location—Japan. 2. Industrial location—France. 3. Industrial policy—Japan.I. Title.4. Industrial policy—France.

HC465.D5A73 2008 338.6'0420952—dc22

2007031127

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

 List of Tables and Figures vii  Preface ix  Abbreviations xv

 Introduction: Site Fights and Policy Tools 1

Contents

 1 Picking Sites 26  2 A Logic of Tool Choice 50  3 Occasional Turbulence: Airport Siting in Japan and France 70  4 Dam the Rivers: Siting Water Projects in Japan and France 95  5 Trying to Change Hearts and Minds:  Japanese Nuclear Power Plant Siting 119  6 David versus Goliath: French Nuclear Power Plant Siting 152

 Conclusion: Areas for Future Investigation 185

 Appendix 1. Data Sources 197  Appendix 2. Methodological Details 199  Appendix 3. Interviewees 203  Periodicals and News Services 207  References 209  Index 243

v

Tables and Figures

Tables 1. Dominant state strategies as a factor of civil society 14 2. Six explanations for siting outcomes 28 3. Descriptive statistics of siting data, 1945–1995 35 4. Clusters of policy tools 56

Figures 1. Weaker antifacility civil society increases probability of selection 39 2. Decreasing community solidarity increases chance of selection as host community 40 3. Having more powerful politicians increases the probability of selection as a host 41 4. Having weaker civil society associations increases likelihood of selection for airport 43 5. Having stronger civil society decreases likelihood of siting success 46 6. Presence of other public bads increases likelihood of future siting success 47 7. Clusters of policy tools 57 8. Comparing voluntary and involuntary acquisition of land in Japan 62 9. Number of articles with the key words “airport” and . . . 74 10. Low level of media coverage of antidam sentiment over the postwar period 98 11. Steady media coverage of antinuclear sentiment in Japan 122 12. Early support for the Japanese nuclear program 127 13. Decreasing public support for nuclear power in the 1970s and 1980s 136 14. Deepening opposition to nuclear power in the 1990s 138 15. Declining trust in Japanese nuclear power 144 16. Number ofLe Mondearticles on antinuclear events 170 17. Percentage of French respondents in favor of nuclear power 178 18. Total approved expropriation applications per year 190

vii

Preface

States often face vexing problemsthey try to construct facilities as that serve the needs of citizens as a whole but potentially bring unfavor able consequences into their host communities. Plans to site incinerators, waste treatment facilities, nuclear power plants, and airports regularly create backlash in communities around the world. A halfcentury ago the problem was less acute. A world with abundant land, cheap energy, and uncongested airports had far less need for such projects. Furthermore—and even more importantly—the citizens who were adversely affected were far more likely to accept such projects in the name of advancing the public good. Times have changed. As energy consumption, garbage output, and airport use have increased, the demand for such facilities has soared, and the land available for largescale projects has shrunk. Meanwhile, rising educational levels, increased environmental consciousness, declining confidence in gov ernment in the industrial countries, and greater access to information—all mean that citizen opposition to such projects is rising, and host communities are harder to find. State authorities thus face fundamental challenges: how to choose locations for controversial facilities and how to respond to local citizen opposition to such projects when it arises. Social scientists and policymakers have demonstrated a growing interest in siting issues, as evidenced by several books on the subject (Lesbirel and Shaw 2005; Quah and Tan 2002; Weingart 2001; McAvoy 1999; Lesbirel 1998); meanwhile the acronym NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) has be come commonplace in referring to siting dilemmas. Simultaneously, the many prominent works on civil society and social capital by scholars such as Rob ert Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000), Theda Skocpol (1999), Jonah Levy (1999), Susan Pharr (2003), Jennifer ChanTiberghien (2004), and Robert Pekkanen (2006) reflect the growing recognition that studies of governance and political economy must take civil society seriously. This book contributes to both these literatures in showing how democratic states meet the challenges of constructing controversial projects. Focusing on

ix