Nuclear Weapons, Protest, and American Political Parties, 1944 to 2020

Nuclear weapons and protest have had a longstanding connection in the United States since the end of World War II. This research investigates the reciprocal relationship between U.S. political parties’ positions on nuclear weapons and media coverage of international anti-nuclear protest. In doing so, it considers the interactive effects of parties and protests, variations in the dangers of nuclear weapons, and the effects of presidential incumbency. The results reveal that the Democratic Party may be more responsive to protests than is the Republican Party, though protesters likely react more directly to positions taken by the Republican Party. Furthermore, the evolution of anti-nuclear discourse from arms control to proliferation does not appear to have advantaged the international anti-nuclear movement. The article concludes with lessons on how the anti-nuclear movement could approach key issues and the two major U.S. political parties.