A constant source of support: European public views of arms control

European leaders are under a double pressure: on the one hand, for the last 70 years, they have relied on nuclear deterrence to protect their countries against external adversaries. For most of these 70 years, reliance on nuclear deterrence had its physical manifestation in the presence of American nuclear weapons on European territory. While the number of countries with nuclear weapons has varied over time, at present, it is thought that the United States stations nuclear weapons in five European countries, including in the Netherlands. On the other hand, their domestic populations have never been satisfied with this particular form of defense. Europeans have never been comfortable with nuclear deterrence, and anti-nuclear feelings have ebbed and flowed in almost all countries in Europe where nuclear weapons have been stationed.