Public opinion between rearmament and crisis of the nuclear taboo

Fabrizio Battistelli; Francesca Farruggia

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arXiv · 2511.20475

Public opinion between rearmament and crisis of the nuclear taboo

Fabrizio Battistelli·Francesca Farruggia

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Abstract

This article examines the changing relationship between the public and nuclear weapons in a context of increasing international insecurity. It discusses the erosion of the nuclear taboo, understood as a normative aversion to nuclear use. Standard surveys capture abstract and rational opinions, while experimental surveys place respondents in simulated strategic scenarios designed to evoke more emotional responses. The divergence between their results is explained by the fact that they measure two different objects: rational opinions and emotional attitudes. A nationally representative survey conducted in Italy in 2025 shows that 81 percent of respondents consider nuclear weapons fundamentally different from conventional weapons and always wrong to use. Among opponents, a distinction is drawn between deontologists and consequentialists. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of integrating affective and cognitive dimensions in the study of public opinion, as a contribution to countering the normalization of nuclear weapons in political discourse.

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Fabrizio Battistelli, Francesca Farruggia. 2025-11-25. Public opinion between rearmament and crisis of the nuclear taboo. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20475

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