Series of policy briefs in response to scholarly article “Atomic Responsiveness”

In November 2025, PRCP researchers Michal Smetana, Lauren Sukin and Marek Vranka alongside Stephen Herzog published a scholarly article in the European Journal of International Security, titled “Atomic responsiveness: How public opinion shapes elite beliefs and preferences on nuclear weapon use”. Following its publication, the study generated an academic exchange on social media, notably involving Florian Eblenkamp, Advocacy Coordinator at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

As part of this Policy Brief series, we present this exchange in written form, featuring Florian Eblenkamp’s response to the study and a subsequent rejoinder by one of the authors, Stephen Herzog.