Trading Arms, Trading Values? Experimental Evidence on Attitudes Toward Arms Exports Among Citizens and Political Elites

Tobias Risse, Christoph Valentin Steinert, Institute of Political Science, University of St, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Czech Republic, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich

Journal of Conflict Resolution

Published online on April 04, 2026

Abstract

Journal of Conflict Resolution, Ahead of Print.
Foreign policy making involves balancing ethical values and instrumental concerns. Do politicians and citizens differ in how they weigh these factors when directly confronted with this trade-off? Focusing on attitudes toward arms exports, we argue that ...