This book analyses the economic history of the nuclear program in Spain, from its inception in the 1950s to the nuclear moratorium in the early 1980s, and investigates the economic, financial and business origins of atomic energy in Spain. The actual dimension of the Spanish nuclear sector, which exceeded the relative economic and political clout of the country at the time, reflects the combination of domestic and foreign interests. Each contribution inserts the Spanish case within the international development of nuclear energy, but also shows how the Spanish nuclear program came about, how it was financed, and who the main architects and beneficiaries at the industrial, financial, commercial and banking levels were; all without losing sight of the energy policy aspects such as energy mix and energy security. The volume provides useful analysis and sources for a variety of core fields across the social sciences including economic history of post-war Europe, industrial and energy policy, international relations and history of technology.

Transnational perspectives on the relationship between nuclear energy and society. With the aim of overcoming the disciplinary and national fragmentation that characterizes much research on nuclear energy, Engaging the Atom brings together specialists from a variety of fields to analyze comparative case studies across Europe and the United States. It explores evolving relationships between society and the nuclear sector from the origins of civilian nuclear power until the present, asking why nuclear energy has been more contentious in some countries than in others and why some countries have never gone nuclear, or have decided to phase out nuclear, while their neighbors have committed to the so-called nuclear renaissance. Contributors examine the challenges facing the nuclear sector in the context of aging reactor fleets, pressing climate urgency, and increasing competition from renewable energy sources. Written by leading academics in their respective disciplines, the nine chapters of Engaging the Atom place the evolution of nuclear energy within a broader set of national and international configurations, including its role within policies and markets.