Kevin Young
Papers
1
Total Citations
77
H-Index
1
About
Kevin Young’s research sits at the intersection of international relations, public opinion, and the politics of technology, with a particular focus on how popular culture and emerging military technologies shape political behavior. His most-cited work, “Does Science Fiction Affect Political Fact? Yes and No: A Survey Experiment on ‘Killer Robots’” (2018, 77 citations), is a landmark study that empirically tests whether exposure to science fiction narratives influences public attitudes toward autonomous weapons systems. By designing a rigorous survey experiment, Young demonstrates that popular culture can indeed shift policy preferences, but the effects are contingent on how the narrative frames the technology—a nuanced finding that challenges simplistic claims about media influence. This work has become essential reading for scholars studying the politics of artificial intelligence and drone warfare. Beyond this paper, Young has contributed to debates on the militarization of technology, the role of identity in foreign policy, and the democratic accountability of emerging security threats. His research is widely cited in political science, security studies, and science and technology studies, making him a key voice in understanding how fiction and fact collide in the making of modern foreign policy.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
- 1