Conclusion: Spacepower and International Relations

Abstract

Spacepower’s time has come. The deployment and use of machines in Earth orbit influences the conduct of modern warfare and perceptions over the balance of power in the international system. Yet the use of space technology and the ‘geo’ politics of space continues to be a marginalised material reality in IR. To attempt to redress this somewhat, this book has built on existing space-power theories and provided an original and rigorous theory of spacepower based on seven propositions, the vision of Earth orbit as a celestial coastline, and an application of that theory to demonstrate the influence of spacepower upon a scenario of modern warfare. Regardless of the actor or of the exact space warfare capabilities and basing locations, this theory should structure creative and critical thought about how spacepower influences modern warfare, and how the universal logics of war influence our thought about space warfare itself. Not only does the theory intend to educate the reader in the qualities of spacepower and the dynamics of space warfare on the strategic level, but also to instil a Clausewitzian way of thinking about the conduct of war in the Space Age. Space cannot be reduced to the simplistic ‘high ground’ as often described in public commentary on military space activities, yet the advantages derived from space infrastructure for tactical military capabilities cannot be denied. The seven propositions and the coastal analogy have instead probed the more nuanced complexities of war in Earth orbit and terrestrial warfare under the influence of spacepower and orbital infrastructures....