Turkey's Nuclear Energy Policy and the Terrorist Threat

Energy resources play a crucial role on today’s world. The main reason for the majority of wars and conflicts in the world is the struggle over access to energy resources. It is no coincidence that a high proportion of current and ongoing wars are in countries rich energy resources. It is a fact that energy policy plays an important way in not only developing countries but also in Turkey. Turkey’s energy demand has grown quickly because of the country’s rapid urbanization and industrialization. Turkey’s energy policy, in particular its nuclear energy policy has been widely discussed in various contexts by both the public and the media. While one group claims that the potential environmental effects of nuclear energy might threaten human beings worldwide, other groups have pointed out that nuclear energy is the only solution that can meet the growing demand for energy in the world’s expanding economies. For example, China and the United States already meet some of their energy demands using nuclear energy. However, both sides have largely ignored the possibility of terrorist attacks occurring at nuclear power stations and the potential social, political economic impacts of this on the country. The key goal of this research is to discuss the security risks from potential terrorist attacks on nuclear power stations planned for construction in Turkey.