Elizabeth Rough MPhil, MA

PhD student

Elizabeth studies the framing of UK nuclear energy policy since 1950.

Biography

Qualifications

PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge (2007 - present)
MPhil Geographical Research, University of Cambridge (2006 - 2007)
BA Geography, University of Cambridge (2002 - 2005)

Career

Guest Researcher, jointly hosted by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden (April - June 2010)
ESRC/National Archives Internship, 'Nuclear policy and British politics: changing debates about energy since 1945', The National Archives, Kew (March - May 2009)
Research Assistance for Professor Owens' forthcoming book The Knowledge Brokers: The Role and Influence of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (June - September 2008)
Research Assistant, Research and Development Unit, The Salvation Army National Headquarters, London (2005 – 2006)

Research

Nuclear Narratives in UK Energy Policy

In 2006, nuclear power was firmly re-installed on the UK government's agenda after years in the political wilderness. Since its inception, the political fortunes of nuclear power have been punctuated by periods of unbridled support and growth, as well as outright hostility and decline. Somewhat surprisingly, there has been little explicit analysis, at least from scholars of public policy, aimed at elucidating the factors driving nuclear policy stability and change. Given the enormity of the issue, and the controversy that it continues to provoke, this is an area in need of critical reflection.

The objective of the research is to develop a more detailed understanding of why nuclear power policy has, at various times, been pushed to the top of the political agenda and why at others it receded from it. Economic and technical feasibility surely play a pivotal role, yet any analysis which assumes that nuclear energy policy is underpinned by a rational analysis of the prevailing situation and an appraisal of all alternative options would overlook a great deal of the debate.

An alternative approach, which I aim to develop throughout the research, would study 'nuclear narratives' – the multiple and often conflicting representations of nuclear power which have come to dominate our understanding of the technology – and the socio-historical conditions in which these narratives were produced and received. This perspective places the focus of the research squarely on the construction and representation of nuclear power in public and political spheres.

This focus, and the longitudinal nature of the study, enables me to examine the dynamics of the policy process itself. Specifically, I aim to explore and develop an understanding of the mechanisms through which ideas and knowledge come to be influential, or not, in public policy. To achieve this goal I employ the concept of framing – the action of drawing boundaries around a problem – and question the extent to which the concept is able to account for, and explain changes in, nuclear energy policy over time.

Publications

Rough, E. (2011) "Policy learning through public inquiries? The case of UK nuclear energy policy 1955 – 61" Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 29(1) 24 – 45. doi:10.1068/c09184
Rough, E. (in press) "Nuclear narratives, environmental discourse and UK energy policy and legislation, 1970-2008" in B. Jessup and K. Rubenstein (eds) Environmental Discourses in Public and International Law, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming January 2012.

Reports

Dibb, R., Mitchell, T., Munro, G., and Rough, E. (2006) Substance use and health-related needs of migrant sex workers and women trafficked into sexual exploitation in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the City of London. http://www.researchasylum.org.uk/?lid=1230

Conference Papers

'Policy Learning through Public Inquiries? The Case of UK Nuclear Power Policy, 1955 to 1965.' Working Group 7: (Contested) knowledges and learning in environmental policy processes, 9th Nordic Environmental Social Science Conference, University College, London, June 2009.
'Critical Discourse Moments in the Framing of UK Nuclear Energy Policy, 1950-1990.' 4th International Conference in Interpretive Policy Analysis, University of Kassel, Germany, June 2009.
'From 'electricity too cheap to meter' to a 'green, low-carbon technology?': Examining 'nuclear narratives' and their relationship to UK energy policy and legislation, 1950-2009.' Environmental Discourses in International and Public Law Workshop, ANU College of Law, The Australian National University, Canberra, August 2009.
'Constructions and representations of nuclear power in public and political spheres in the UK.' Nuclear Power and Waste Management: Experiences from Korea, Sweden and the UK, An International Workshop, Centre for Public Sector Research, University of Gothenburg, June 2010.

Seminars

''Enough is not yet known about Atomation': Geographies of opposition to civil nuclear energy, 1950-1960.' Graduate Seminar Series, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, January 2009
UK Energy Research Centre Summer School and Annual Assembly, University of Sussex, Brighton, July 2009
'Policy Learning in Action? The case of UK nuclear energy policy.' BBL Seminar, Stockholm Environment Institute, April 2010.
'A green technology? Nuclear energy and environmental discourses in the UK.' Division of Environmental Strategies Research Seminar Series, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, May 2010.

Teaching

2007 – present: Supervisor, Geographical Tripos Part IA: Society, Environment and Development.
2008 – present: Supervisor and Guest Lecturer, Geographical Tripos Part II: Environment, Policy and Society.

External activities

Convener of the 'Travelling Knowledges' reading group, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge (Michaelmas 2008 - Lent 2009)
Co-convener (with Franz Huber) of the Graduate Seminar Series, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge (Michaelmas 2008)
Postgraduate member of the Royal Geographical Society