In the summer of 2002, less than a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 62% agreed with this statement: “The best way to ensure peace is through military strength.” But a year later, that number had fallen by nine points, to 53%. In the current survey, 49% say they think that maintaining military strength is the best way to ensure peace – the lowest percentage in the 20- year history of Pew values surveys.
While the partisan divide in views about this principle is large, it is not much bigger than four years ago. Notably, the percentage of Republicans subscribing to this principle has fluctuated only modestly in recent years. Currently, 72% of Republicans agree that the best way to ensure peace is through military strength, which is largely unchanged from 2002 and 2003 (72% and 69%, respectively).
By contrast, just 40% of Democrats believe that military strength best ensures peace, which is down a bit from 2003 (44%). In 2002, a solid majority of Democrats (55%) said that peace is best ensured through military strength. Opinion among independents has followed a similar track as the Democrats.
Currently, 46% of independents agree that the best way to ensure peace is through military strength, compared with 51% four years ago and 62% in 2002. There also has been a substantial shift on this issue among self-described moderates – regardless of party. Currently, 43% of moderates say that military strength is the best way to guarantee peace, down 12 points from 2003 (55%).
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