What Do Young Americans Think about Nuclear Weapons?

A Carnegie Corporation of New York and Chicago Council on Global Affairs webinar provides insights on how to engage Americans on nuclear issues across generational lines

By Carnegie Corporation of New York August 4, 2023

Nuclear Threats

The remnants of a container used to hold the first tested atomic bomb is seen as people visit the nearby Trinity Site on Saturday, October 15, 2022. The Trinity Site is located at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, is where the first atomic bomb was tested in July 1945. (Credit: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the prospect of nuclear weapons use seem more realistic now than it has for decades. The risk of a new nuclear arms race in Asia looms over international stability, the United States is undergoing an extensive — and expensive — nuclear modernization process, and Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Oppenheimer, has brought the atomic bomb to the forefront of the pop culture conversation as well.

A panel of experts on polling, social media, and nuclear weapons came together on July 27, 2023, to explore the findings of a benchmark poll, Majority in the U.S. Interested in Boosting Their Nuclear Knowledge, by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The focus of the discussion was on how to better engage the broader U.S. public on nuclear policy — especially young Americans who are far removed from the days of Cold War “duck and cover” drills. “This conversation is not just about the survey results,” remarked Carnegie Corporation of New York's Sharon K. Weiner, “but about communicating with Americans about nuclear weapons.”

Weiner, the Corporation’s senior resident fellow in the International Peace and Security program, moderated the webinar. Speakers included Dina Smeltz of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Gabriela Iveliz Rosa-Hernández of the Arms Control Association, Ananya Agustin Malhotra of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Avery Restrepo of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Emma Smith of ReThink Media.

Dina Smeltz presented an overview of the survey results, including the survey methodology and relevant findings about Americans’ engagement and familiarity with nuclear issues by generation: their ability to assess the benefit or harm of nuclear weapons, their perceptions of safety, and more. Rosa-Hernández covered the major differences between engaging people on nuclear issues in Washington, D.C., and engaging people on nuclear issues in Europe. Restrepo, who works in social media, discussed what might be done to engage younger audiences on nuclear issues across platforms. Smith considered the ways movements are built digitally — and how these strategies might apply to nuclear causes. Malhotra spoke about Gen Z’s openness and enthusiasm around advocacy in the areas of climate change and racial injustice as an opportunity to integrate nuclear policy as another important social cause to care about.

Watch the full webinar “What Young Americans Think about Nuclear Weapons”