The lesser evil? Experimental evidence on the strength of nuclear and chemical weapon "taboos"

Abstract

We present findings of a survey experiment on a sample of 2350 American and British citizens, in which we examined attitudes towards nuclear and chemical strikes. Our findings demonstrate that even though the public accurately judges nuclear weapons as more destructive and indiscriminate, it is still more averse to the use of chemical than nuclear weapons.

Our follow up study has shown that individuals are significantly more likely to associate chemical weapons with "rogue states" and terrorists, and associate nuclear weapons with modern powers. The findings contribute to scholarship on the "taboos" surrounding the (non-)use of WMDs in world politics.

Keywords

• Chemical taboo
• nuclear taboo
• public attitudes
• survey experiment
• weapons of mass destruction