Public Preferences Between Wars of Necessity and Wars of Choice

Abstract

As a part of the overarching publication “Willingness to Defend Own Country in the Baltic States: Implications for National Security and NATO’s Collective Defence” (2021), the author assesses preferences and attitudes in societies regarding wars of necessity and wars of choice, as well as reasoning of individuals in willing or unwilling to defend own countries. The author underlines that the level of willingness to defend own country depends on the nature of a potential conflict that the society in question is about to face – either one of necessity, or as a choice. The former here relates to self-defence against immediate threats while the latter to more distant threats.