Disarming Arguments: Public Opinion and Nuclear Abolition

Abstract

While many consider the threat posed by nuclear weapons to be greater than ever, the general public has largely lost interest in the issue of nuclear disarmament. To reinvigorate public support for a nuclear-weapons-free world, disarmament advocates have presented a range of arguments about the necessity of nuclear abolition. This article presents original data from a public-opinion survey of US citizens to examine the relative effectiveness of the most common pro-disarmament arguments. The study found that the least persuasive arguments had to do with the costs of maintaining a nuclear arsenal, the humanitarian impact of nuclear-weapons use, and the threats of nuclear terrorism and nuclear war. The most persuasive arguments related to nuclear-armed ‘rogue states’ and the possibility of nuclear accidents. Political stakeholders and civil-society actors might use these findings to more effectively frame their public messaging.