Explaining Public Policy Choices: A Case Study of the First Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh

This article employs the 3-i framework to explore the institutions, ideas, and interests that have shaped the Bangladesh government’s policy choices for implementing the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the first such plant in the country. The logic behind three choices—vendor country, reactor model, and spent fuel management—are analysed. The findings reveal an interactive policy process, involving various domestic and international institutions, whose ideas regarding project funding, reactor safety, technical expertise and calculation of financial, organisational and political interests have played a key role in shaping the choices of Bangladesh.