Public Opinion and Alliance Commitments in Cybersecurity: An Attack Against All?

Miguel Alberto Gomez and Gregory Winger
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Miguel Alberto Gomez: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule

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Abstract: Cyber operations as a facet of international competition pose a direct challenge to alliances. Designed to respond to conventional military attacks, alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization must now determine whether their defensive commitments extend into cyberspace. This question is not limited to political and military elites. As the use of force in defense of allies is among the most politically charged decisions a state can make and relies significantly on public support. This article extends recent public opinion literature on cyber conflict to investigate public attitudes towards existing treaty commitments following a destructive cyber operation against an allied state. Using a survey experiment involving U.S. nationals, we find that while subjects are sensitive to treaty obligations and allied casualties these effects are moderated by domain expertise. Furthermore, we observe that specific aggressor-ally dyads tied to geographic region can shape public preferences with subjects being more reactive to Europe based scenarios that comparable treatments in Asia.

Date: 2023-12-19
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:bcwhu

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/bcwhu

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