Duane Bratt - Böcker

As the world struggles to meet the growing international demands for electricity, green energy, and alternatives to fossil fuels, the nuclear power sector is experiencing global growth. Nuclear reactors are being designed and constructed at record rates, and Canada is joining the trend, with several provinces considering an expansion of their nuclear presence. Canada, the Provinces, and the Global Nuclear Revival critically examines Canadian nuclear policy in order to show how historic, environmental, economic, and political factors have shaped the direction of the nation's energy industry. Duane Bratt presents a comparative study of the Canadian nuclear sector - using a framework of interest-based coalitions - in its response to the global revival, analyzing nuclear development in Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The book also answers fundamental questions such as: Has Canada seized international opportunities in uranium mining, reactor sales, and cooperation with other countries in nuclear research? To what extent has the industry been consolidated through mergers and acquisitions, foreign investment, and the privatization of crown corporations? A state-of-the-art exploration of Canada's place in the rapidly shifting world of electricity production by an acclaimed expert in the field, Canada, the Provinces, and the Global Nuclear Revival is a major contribution to the international nuclear debate.

In The Politics of CANDU Exports, Duane Bratt provides a comprehensive history of the export of the Canada Deuterium-Uranium (CANDU) reactor - a pressurized heavy water natural-uranium power reactor designed and marketed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Bratt examines every CANDU sale, as well as some important unsuccessful sales attempts, from 1956 to the present. He also outlines the impact that changes in the international political climate such as the creation and strengthening of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and the increasing importance of human rights and environmental protection, have had on CANDU exports over the last fifty years.Bratt's study attempts to develop a framework for understanding the ebb and flow of the influences of different foreign policy objectives on Canada's decision-making process. There are litanies of economic and political interests that Canadian governments have hoped to serve by exporting CANDUs, interests such as economic gain, containing communism, and assisting the developing world. Yet, Canada has additional foreign policy objectives such as national security, the protection of human rights, and preservation of the environment, which constrain the desire to export CANDUs. Furthermore, the nature of the debate surrounding CANDU exports has changed over time. Bratt shows that while the traditional debate over CANDU exports was between Canada's commercial interests and its security concerns, since the early 1990s a new debate focused on two separate planes of argument has emerged. The economic benefits of exporting the CANDU reactors are now weighed against the economic cost of extensive government subsidies; while the environmental benefits of CANDU exports are measured against the environmental costs of building and promoting nuclear power.

In 2015, the New Democratic Party won an unprecedented victory in Alberta. Unseating the Progressive Conservatives-who had won every provincial election since 1971-they formed an NDP government for the first time in the history of the province.Orange Chinook is the first scholarly analysis of this election. It examines the legacy of the Progressive Conservative dynasty, the PC and NDP campaigns, polling, and online politics, providing context and setting the stage. It highlights the importance of Alberta's energy sector and how it relates to provincial politics with focus on the oil sands, the carbon tax, and pipelines.Examining the NDP in power, Orange Chinook draws on Indigenous, urban, and rural perspectives to explore the transition process and government finances and politics. It explores the governing style of premier Rachel Notley, paying special attention to her response to the 2016 For McMurray wildfire and to the role of women in politics.Orange Chinook brings together Alberta's top political watchers in this fascinating, multifaceted analysis.

In 2019, the United Conservative Party, under the leadership of Jason Kenney, unseated the New Democratic Party to form the provincial government of Alberta. A restoration of conservative power in a province that had seen the Progressive Conservatives win every election from 1971-2015, UCP quickly began to make political waves.This is the first scholarly analysis of the 2019 election and the first years of the UCP government, with special focus on the path of Jason Kenney's rise to, and fall from, provincial political power. It opens with an examination of the election from a number of vantage points, including the campaign, polling, and online politics. It provides fascinating insight into internal UCP politics with chapters on the divisions within the party, gender and the UCP, and the symbolism of Kenney's famous blue pickup truck. Explorations of oil and gas policy, the Energy War Room, Alberta's budgets, health care, education, the public sector, Alberta's cultural industries, and more provide unprecedented insight into the actions, motivations, and impacts of Kenney's UCP Government in power. Contributions from top political watchers, journalists, and academics provide a wide range of methods and perspectives.Concluding with a survey of the impacts of COVID-19 in Alberta and a comparison between Jason Kenney and Doug Ford, Blue Storm is essential reading for everyone interested in Alberta politics and the tumultuous first years of the UCP government. Providing key insights from perspectives across the political spectrum, this book is a captivating deep-dive into an unprecedented party, its often controversial politics, and its unforgettable leader.