Cover not available
Part of
Controversies and Interdisciplinarity: Beyond disciplinary fragmentation for a new knowledge model
Edited by Jens Allwood, Olga Pombo, Clara Renna and Giovanni Scarafile
[Controversies 16] 2020
► pp. 29–52

Chapter 2
The Paks Pact

Topoi in Hungarian nuclear energy discourse

| Budapest University of Technology and Economics
| Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Hungary’s only nuclear power plant in Paks can operate until the 2030s which prompted a discussion about an expansion. The first section of this paper identifies the eight most common topoi of the expansion: economy, finance, energy supply, safety, environment, legality, ethics and relationship with Russia. Topoi are considered subject-matters of argumentation with which participants of a controversy convey their standpoints. In the second section, topos analysis is used to explore the argumentation of two political bodies, an environmental protectionist organization and two scientific institutions. Results show that the argumentation style of the examined actors differ in the openness of their standpoints, in their calls to action and the frequency of the employed topoi.

Keywords: nuclear energy, Hungary, argumentation, topos analysis, political discourse, scientific discourse
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The timeline of Paks II
  • Research design
    • 1.Research material
    • 2.Research methodology
      • 2.1Topos theory
      • 2.2Topos analysis
  • Results
    • 1.List of topoi
    • 2.Frequency of topoi
      • 2.1The Hungarian Government
      • 2.2LMP
      • 2.3Greenpace
      • 2.4Energy Club
      • 2.5Hungarian Academy of Sciences
    • 3.Call to action
  • Conclusion
  • Discussion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 15 October 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cvs.16.02egr
References
Act CXII of 2011 on the Right of Informational Self-Determination and on Freedom of Information
(2011) Retrieved from [URL]
Aggregate of Academy Law XL of 1994 As Amended by Parliament 2009, 2010 and 2011
(2011) Retrieved from [URL]
Cooperation agreement between the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd
(2009) Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30).
Culler, C.
(2015) Good Works: The Topoi of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Travel and Tourism Industry (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from University of Central Florida, STARS, [URL]
Decision No. 25/2009. (IV. 2.) of the Hungarian Parliament
(2009) Retrieved from [URL]
Department of Communications of Hungarian Academy of Sciences
(2016) Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved from [URL]
energiaklub.hu
(2012, June 1). Az átláthatóság véd, ha nem is gyönyörködtet. [Transparency protects, although it does not delight.] Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30)
(2014, February 3). Újabb per a paksi bővítés nyilvánosságáért. [Another Litigation for the Publicity of the Paks Expansion.] Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30)
Energy Club Statutes
(2010, October 29). Retrieved from [URL]
Energia Kontroll Program
no date). Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2019, January 31)
Eriksson, A.
(2012) Argumentative Topoi for Refutation and Confirmation. In Frans H. van Eemeren & Bart Garssen (Eds.), Topical Themes in Argumentation Theory: Twenty Exploratory Studies. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Greenpeace Hungary
(2014, June 12). Paks 2 állami támogatása sokszorosan sérti az európai jogrendet. [The State Aid of Paks II Breaks the Law of the EU in Multiple Ways.] Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30)
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
(2016) Nő az Akadémia költségvetése, emelik a kutatói béreket. [The Budget of HAS increases, the Salaries of Researchers are Raised.] Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30)
hvg.hu
(2015, February 16). Medián: Az igazi ⅔ tiszta energiát akar Putyin és Paks II helyett. [Medián: The Real ⅔ Wants Clean Energy instead of Putin and Paks II.] Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30)
index.hu
(2014, June 17). Ipsos: A magyarok 59 százaléka ellenzi Paks bővítését. [Ipsos: 59% of Hungarians Are Against the Expansion of Paks.] Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30)
International Energy Agency
(2013) Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Germany 2013 Review. IEA Publications. Retrieved from [URL]
(2014) Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Austria 2014 Review. IEA Publications. Retrieved from [URL]
(2016a) Energy Policies of IEA Countries: France 2016 Review. IEA Publications. Retrieved from [URL]
(2016b) Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Poland 2016 Review. IEA Publications. Retrieved from [URL]
(2017b) Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Hungary 2017 Review. IEA Publications. Retrieved from [URL]
Miller, C. R.
(2000) The Aristotelian Topos: Hunting for Novelty. In Alan G. Gross, & Arthur E. Walzer (Eds.), Rereading Aristotle’s Rhetoric. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press.Google Scholar
Müller, W. C.
(2017) Austria: Rejecting Nuclear Energy – From Party Competition Accident to State Doctrine. In Wolfgang C. Müller and Paul W. Thurner (Eds.) The Politics of Nuclear Energy in Western Europe (1st ed., pp. 98–124). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Negrul, S. V., Tatiana G. Trubchenko & Elena Y. Lemeshko
(2016) Safety and Risks of Nuclear Power: Changing the Discourse (by the Example of Tomsk Region). Conference RPTSS 2015, SHS Web of Conferences, 28.
Paks NPP
no date). Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2019, January 31)
Prelli, L. J.
(1989) A Rhetoric of Science: Inventing Scientific Discourse. University of South Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Rubinelli, S.
(2009) Ars Topica: The Classical Technique of Constructing Arguments from Aristotle to Cicero. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Netherlands. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sarlós, G.
(2014) Risk and Benefit Perceptions in the Communication Narratives of Nuclear Energy in Hungary (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ELTE TÁTK, [URL]
Schweitzer, J.
(2011) Media Framing of Nuclear Energy in France Before and After Fukushima (Master’s Degree). Retrieved from [URL]
United Nations General Assembly
(1987) Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation: Environment. Retrieved from [URL]
vs.hu
(2014, June 18). Paksi bővítés: Másik kutatás, másik közvélemény. [The Expansion of Paks: Another Research, Another Public Opinion.] Retrieved from [URL] (Last accessed 2017, November 30)
Ziman, J.
(2000) Real Science: What it is, and What it Means. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar