EXOPOLITICS MEDIA NOTE: Large Majorities of Americans and Russians Oppose All Space Weapons

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Large Majorities of Americans and Russians Oppose All Space Weapons

Strong Bipartisan Support for Unilateral Restraint

Large Majorities Favor Treaty Against Attacking or
Developing the Capability to Attack Satellites

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Questionnaire / Methodology (PDF)

Most
Americans and Russians agree that their governments should work
together to prevent an arms race in space. Large majorities in both
countries favor unilateral restraint and a treaty that would keep space
free of weapons.

A United States Air Force Defense Support System satellite used for infrared detection (Photo: USAF)

Americans
and Russians also support treaties that would prohibit countries from
attacking or interfering with each others’ satellites and from testing
or deploying weapons designed to attack satellites.

These are
among the key findings of a WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 1,247
Americans and 1,601 Russians developed in conjunction with the Center
for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland
(CISSM). Knowledge Networks in the United States and the Levada Center
in Russia conducted the interviews.

Majorities
in both the United States (78%) and Russia (67%) say that as long as no
other country puts weapons into space, their own governments should
also refrain from doing so.

Most Russians (72%) and Americans
(80%) also favor a new treaty banning all weapons in space. Support for
such a ban was strong among Americans even when they were presented
counter arguments about the potential military advantages of deploying
such systems.

The US poll revealed strong bipartisan
consensus on the issue. Majorities in both the Republican and
Democratic parties believe the US government should refrain
unilaterally from deploying space weapons. There is also bipartisan
backing for a treaty to ban these weapons, though support is higher
among Democrats.

Steven Kull, director of
WorldPublicOpinion.org, noted that there was remarkable agreement
within and between the two countries on the issue of space weapons.

“What
is striking is the robust consensus—among Russians as well as
Americans, and among Republicans as well as Democrats—that space should
not be an arena for the major powers to compete for military
advantage,” Kull said.

John Steinbruner, director of CISSM,
added that “the observed consensus also reflects a robust conception of
security interest.”

“The
use of space for common protection is, in fact, far more important for
all countries under the circumstances of globalization than the pursuit
of national advantage in performing traditional military missions,”
Steinbruner said.

Asked how high a priority their governments
should place on bilateral cooperation to prevent an arms race in space,
large maj