A future of nuclear energy? : To what extent does the discourse on the use of nuclear energy in Germany and France affect their trusting interstate relationship?

This thesis analyses the indicators of trusting interstate relationships in the context of the discourse on the use of nuclear energy between Germany and France. As the European Commission recently published the Complementary Climate Delegated Act, categorizing nuclear energy as climate-neutral energy source, discussions on that topic arose especially between Germany and France. By applying a measurement for trusting interstate relationships onto this discourse, a better understanding on how the trusting interstate relationship between Germany and France can be affected by conflicting positions on the use of nuclear energy will be developed. The research question: A future of nuclear energy? To what extent does the discourse on the use of nuclear energy in Germany and France affect their trusting interstate relationship? is answered by using desk research and a liberal approach of a content analysis. Generally, this thesis takes on a qualitative deductive approach and answers the research question in a multi-level and multi-measurement analysis. As this thesis includes very recent developments concerning the use of nuclear energy in the future, the findings gathered provided some essential insights on how the trusting interstate relationship of Germany and France is affected by the conflicting positions and that much of the data can rather be found on the global- / as well as the EU-level. Further research can use this thesis to elaborate more on the measurement of trusting interstate relationships in a globalised setting.