A fragile public preference for cyber strikes: Evidence from survey experiments in the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel

To what extent does the public support use of cyber weapons? We propose that exposure to destructive potential cyber-attacks will dispel clear cross-national preference for strikes. test this, we conducted two survey experiments (n = 2,585) examine versus conventional military strikes in United States, Kingdom, and Israel. In study 1, exposed respondents television news reports depicting various forms terror attacks, then measured subsequent retaliatory options. Findings indicate high deploying weapons dissipated entirely among lethal cyber-attacks. 2, probed this vanishing support, finding undercuts perception as a less domain, therefore diminishing its appeal. conclude by discussing how fragile encourages escalation short-term.