Novel Survey Experiments in Nuclear Politics

Session Submission Type: Virtual Full Paper Panel

Session Description

In recent years, scholars have made significant strides in demystifying public opinion on nuclear issues by using survey experiments. The field now has an improved understanding of how publics view the potential use of nuclear weapons, indigenous nuclear proliferation, and the connection between military and civilian nuclear technologies.
 
This panel builds on the growing body of nuclear knowledge. To that end, four papers leverage survey experimental methods to explore new topics in nuclear politics. The papers come in pairs dealing with substantive areas of great interest to scholars and policymakers alike.

The first pair of papers address the domestic politics of nuclear proliferation. Gibbons and Petrovics analyze how leaders in latent nuclear states may cue their publics to support peaceful nuclear energy production or nuclear proliferation. Sukin explores the effects of overly credible U.S. security guarantees on public support for developing nuclear arms in allied NATO states.

The second pair of papers expand academic knowledge on public support for nuclear weapon use. Allison and Herzog evaluate how varying justifications for nuclear strikes alter U.S. public perceptions of their acceptability and efficacy. Smetana, Vranka, and Rosendorf compare U.S. public views on the nuclear and chemical "taboos" and the acceptability of using these weapons.

Sub Unit

• Division 19: International Security 

Individual Presentations

• A-Bomb for the People: Domestic Drivers of Nuclear Latency - Ariel F.W. Petrovics, University of Maryland

• Assessing the Effects of Credible Commitments - Lauren Sukin, Stanford University

• Retaliation Risk, Strike Justification, and Public Support for Nuclear Use - David Minchin Allison, Yale University; Stephen Herzog, ETH Zurich

• A Comparative Experimental Study of Nuclear and Chemical Weapons “Taboos” - Michal Smetana, Charles University; Ondrej Rosendorf, Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University

Chair

• Benjamin A. Valentino Dartmouth College

Discussant

• Rose McDermott Brown University