Weapons Norms

This set of research projects explores the origins and effectivness of international efforts to restrict certain weapons of war.

Why are landmines and chemical weapons banned in war, but flamethrowers are perfectly fine? Why are activists campaigning against killer robots but not against depleted uranium munitions? Why are people afraid of drones and how much should it matter? How much do Americans care about taboos against nuclear weapons and saturation bombing and how do we know? Do treaties banning weapons strengthen or weaken weapons taboos? My research has focused on how to explain variation in which weapons get banned, the tactics norm advocates use, and whether these strategies make a difference in the minds of citizens and the actual behavior of states.