Civil Dialogue on Nuclear Energy (1974-1983) - State action in the dispute over nuclear waste management and its significance for today's site selection process.

Pursuant to Section 4 (2) of the Act on the Search and Selection of a Site for a High-level Waste Disposal Site (StandortAG - StandAG) of 5 May 2017, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Waste Management (BfE) is responsible for the public participation in the site selection procedure. It lays the foundations and boundary conditions for how citizens can be included in the search for a site in order to find a solution that is supported by broad social consensus. The knowledge about the historical dimension of the location search and the scientifically founded, intergenerational discourse on remaining issues contribute to this.

One factor that has been researched to a limited extent in the debate on nuclear energy in the Federal Republic of Germany is the "Civil Dialogue on Nuclear Energy", which was started in 1975 by the then Federal Minister of Research, Matthöfer, as a reaction of the Federal Government to the growing popular resistance. Within the framework of the research project its origin, its implementation and its effects should be presented and analyzed. The project focuses on disposal issues (reprocessing, intermediate storage, disposal). In essence, an analysis of the interactions between the state actors and organized civil society, their motives and mutual perception as well as the transfer to today's site selection process must be provided. The aim is to visualize the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the activities of the day and to learn from them for the present.