What arguments motivate citizens to demand nuclear disarmament?

Abstract

Why is the global public so apathetic about nuclear disarmament? To answer this question, this article examines the various arguments made in support of policies meant to rid the world of atomic weapons. They include the immorality of deterrence, its impracticality in a world where the enemy does not behave rationally, and the calamitous consequences of nuclear accidents. The authors argue that the approach with the highest chance of successfully stimulating political activism focuses on the current costs of maintaining nuclear arsenals.

Elite-Public Gaps in Attitudes to Nuclear Weapons: New Evidence from a Survey of German Citizens and Parliamentarians

“…Yet, the treaty was less successful in making newspaper headlines and thereby reaching out to the wider public. While citizens in most countries generally support the idea of nuclear disarmament, there is very limited public engagement that would help to build the political momentum to turn this idea into reality ( Harrington, Gheorghe, and Fink 2017 ). Some scholars suggest an explanation for this phenomenon: Most citizens support nuclear disarmament in principle, yet they are simultaneously skeptical that such a goal is realistically attainable ( Rosendorf, Smetana, and Vranka 2021 ).…”

Life beyond Arms Control: Moving toward a Global Regime of Nuclear Restraint & Responsibility

“…34 The freeze offered a cogent critique of the nuclear rhetoric and policy of the Reagan administration, and "even became a plank of the Democratic Party platform in 1984." 35 While an actual nuclear freeze was never put in place, the movement was highly successful in putting pressure on Congress and the president to rein in the arms race and engage in nuclear restraint. 36 Following the end of the Cold War, nuclear weapons fell off the public's radar and arms control became largely an inside-the-beltway, elite-driven process.…”

“…While polling shows that publics tend to support the goal of nuclear disarmament, only a small minority takes part in activism that raises awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons, lobbies for arms control, or contributes to the goal of abolition. 37 This suggests the importance of, and need for, education for a public often woefully uninformed on nuclear issues.…”