Magazine Article - War on the Rocks

How Americans Feel about Going to (Nuclear) War

    Author:
  • Christopher Preble
| Aug. 15, 2017

Two years ago, long before a U.S. president threatened to rain “fire and fury like the world has never seen” on North Korea (channeling, perhaps unwittingly, Harry Truman), Scott D. Sagan and Benjamin A. Valentino conducted a clever survey experiment to test Americans’ attitudes on the use of nuclear weapons. They summarize their findings in the current issue of International Security.

Those expecting the public to constrain President Donald Trump’s bellicose impulses cannot be reassured by these findings. They are merely the latest reminder that the median American voter can be quite hawkish when it comes to the use of force. This includes an inclination to support military action that is likely to result in large numbers of civilian casualties.

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For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Preble, Christopher. “How Americans Feel about Going to (Nuclear) War.” War on the Rocks, August 15, 2017.

The Author

Christopher Preble

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Scott Sagan

Scott D. Sagan

  • Current Affiliation: The Caroline S. G. Munro Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University
  • Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1981-1982; Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security

Benjamin A. Valentino

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