Publication

The policy brief discusses the possibility of using public opinion polls to gauge 'the nuclear habit' in the public mind and the obstacle this could form for changing the status quo. It argues that whether or not opinion polls can be used to gauge the public's position on nuclear weapons depends on how the issues are framed. It nevertheless suggests that opinion polls could be used to find whether there is a nuclear habit shared by Russian and US public and whether in fact the public does collectively perceive nuclear weapons as a primary source of national power due to the force of habit.