20.500.12556/RUL-176183 Who should lead nuclear fusion research? cross-national evidence on public–private governance preferences in Europe Nuclear fusion research is experiencing unprecedented momentum, driven by public investment and a surge in private start-ups claiming to accelerate commercialization distinct from government-led initiatives. This shift towards private leadership is a new dynamic, yet its implications for public perception and social acceptance have been largely overlooked. This study addresses that critical gap using exploratory findings from a large-scale, cross-national survey in 21 European countries (N = 19,144). We analyzed public preferences for who should lead fusion research and used multinomial logistic regression to identify associated demographic and trust-related factors. Results show a clear public consensus favoring a collaborative model: an overwhelming majority (74 %) believe governments and private companies should be equally involved. In contrast, only 20 % prefer a government-led model and just 6 % a private-led one. The regression analysis reveals that being of older age and female gender is associated with a higher likelihood of preferring this collaborative approach. Furthermore, higher trust in scientists is linked to a lower preference for private-sector leadership. This study provides the first large-scale empirical evidence of public preferences for fusion governance, highlighting a potential misalignment between the industry's push for privatization and the public's desire for collaboration. We discuss these findings by drawing on literature regarding anti-industry sentiment and public skepticism towards the powerful institutions controlling new technologies. The findings suggest citizens desire a balance of strengths, viewing neither the state nor private firms as solely trustworthy to manage the quest for fusion energy. fusion energy private fusion public-private partnerships science governance social acceptability public attitudes fuzijska energija zasebna fuzija javno-zasebna partnerstva upravljanje znanosti družbena sprejemljivost odnos javnosti true false false Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2025-11-24 12:37:51 2025-11-24 12:37:59 2025-12-30 12:43:47 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 10 str. [article no.] 104458 Vol. 130 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 620.9:316 2214-6326 10.1016/j.erss.2025.104458 258408451 RAZ_Giacometti_Alessio_2025.pdf RAZ_Giacometti_Alessio_2025.pdf 1 24BA763B6C884DE938F3D3C3352C4471 f52b112463cd639033c41e79332ea04ae72d6434f906e2ffce3a231b6aedf67c c7255f2a-c929-11f0-9328-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=222432 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629625005390?via%3Dihub 1 ac4105d8-c929-11f0-9328-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=222431 Fakulteta za strojništvo 0 0 0