Politicized Cognition: Partisan Identity as the Primary Driver of Public Attitudes Toward Nuclear Energy in Taiwan

• In Event: Political Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Partisanship (Table 14)

Abstract

Taiwan’s electricity generation structure has undergone multiple shifts over the past four decades. Nuclear power, which supplied up to 51.71% of Taiwan’s electricity in the 1980s, experienced a steady decline over the decades and was fully eliminated from the energy mix by 2025. This raises important questions: How well do citizens understand the current role of nuclear power? What demographic and social factors shape this understanding? And does such understanding influence policy preferences regarding nuclear energy? This study draws on survey data from the Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica, integrating information from local elections, referendums, and United Front-related events to investigate these questions. Findings reveal that since 2019, fewer than 20% of respondents have accurately identified the share of nuclear power in electricity generation, with the figure only rising to 25.70% in November 2024—possibly due to a scheduled power plant maintenance in October of that year. Women and individuals with lower educational attainment are less likely to understand the current status of nuclear power, yet tend to prefer a reduction in its use. Interestingly, being a member of an environmental organization does not improve factual understanding of nuclear power but is associated with support for increasing its use. Notably, stronger perceptions of nuclear risk are linked to greater misperceptions about the actual role of nuclear power. Moreover, understanding of the current energy mix does not appear to predict policy preferences. Rather, public perceptions seem to be shaped more by political identity. Partisan affiliation explains both factual understanding and policy preferences regarding nuclear energy. Finally, political turnover at the local level during the 2018 and 2022 elections, as well as the 2021 referendum on restarting the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, did not significantly affect public knowledge or preferences. However, greater exposure to United Front engagement points correlates with more accurate understanding of nuclear energy development, though it does not influence policy preferences.

Author

• Chun-Yin Lee, National Chengchi University