Space power is arguably one of the most valuable, yet underappreciated and misunderstood components of US national power. The effects derived from our presence in space have tremendous strategic implications: an explosion of communication capabilities, better weather prediction, precision navigation, and intelligence are but a few of the dividends derived from investments in space programs. The United States no longer enjoys a near monopoly on space effects. Every week brings news of advances in space technologies by China, Russia, India, European powers, and others. Space, as a strategic medium (and probably a future warfighting medium), is the ultimate high ground; it is now widely shared and could be hotly contested. Ranging from satellite based access to Internet services to China's recent shoot down of one of its own satellites, new capabilities derived from space based assets are accelerating in terms of quality, ingenuity, and importantly, availability to allies and enemies alike. US leaders must understand the strategic implications of these advances. The authors have filled an important void in the literature on the role of space in strategic decision making by applying two models. The first is Col W. Michael Guillot's paper on strategic leadership, which serves as an excellent framework to analyze the space programs-and their significance-of three of the United States' peer competitors in space: China, India, and the European Union. By putting individual advances of these entities in their proper strategic context, the reader gains a broader and deeper understanding of the meaning of these advances. Additionally, the authors apply the familiar "VUCA" (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) model to space programs, aiding the reader in developing a framework in which to analyze space-power advances. The inevitable conclusion upon reading this paper is that senior decision makers must plan for a strategic landscape where the United States does not enjoy unmatched or uncontested benefits from space power. Additionally, the authors make specific policy prescriptions regarding further development of US space power, international cooperation regarding space programs and effects, and suggestions on de-escalation mechanisms for developing space-based conflicts. Modern Airmen must be familiar with the entire vertical dimension, and this paper serves as an excellent primer for that purpose.

Researchers and practitioners explore the effect of evolving global economic and political powers on energy security within the UK and puts forward practical options for moving towards a more energy secure system over both the short and long terms.

The influence of space power pervades almost every sphere and level of human existence, from politics to military affairs to commercial activities to cultural mind-sets. Yet there is little to be found today in the way of coherent space power doctrine and strategy, particularly in national security circles. To what extent do our national interests rely on space? How shall we defend our interests in space and how shall we deny our adversaries the benefits of space power in time of conflict? How can we control and exploit the space environment? How can we effectively wield space power against the full spectrum of threats -- from the lone terrorist to global peer competitors? What should be our long-range strategy and objectives if our goal is to achieve and maintain long-term space superiority? The purpose of this paper is two fold: first, to illuminate the historical and ever-increasing importance of space in modern society; and second, to prescribe, in view of this importance, the foundations of a strategy for achieving lasting space superiority and ensuring national and world security.

This edited volume discusses how even small nation states can make a significant difference in the future of space governance. The book is divided into three main sections covering political theory, case studies, and space technology and applications. Key topics of discussion include planetary defense, space mining, and high-power systems in space. Through these timely subjects, the book presents strategies for developing a truly global governance framework in space, based on the concept of a responsible cosmopolitan state. Authored by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from the Czech Republic, the volume will appeal to other scientific teams and policymakers looking to become pioneers of cosmopolitan space policies at a national and global level.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

In The Fragile Balance of Terror, the foremost experts on nuclear policy and strategy offer insight into an era rife with more nuclear powers. Some of these new powers suffer domestic instability, others are led by pathological personalist dictators, and many are situated in highly unstable regions of the world—a volatile mix of variables. The increasing fragility of deterrence in the twenty-first century is created by a confluence of forces: military technologies that create vulnerable arsenals, a novel information ecosystem that rapidly transmits both information and misinformation, nuclear rivalries that include three or more nuclear powers, and dictatorial decision making that encourages rash choices. The nuclear threats posed by India, Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea are thus fraught with danger. The Fragile Balance of Terror, edited by Vipin Narang and Scott D. Sagan, brings together a diverse collection of rigorous and creative scholars who analyze how the nuclear landscape is changing for the worse. Scholars, pundits, and policymakers who think that the spread of nuclear weapons can create stable forms of nuclear deterrence in the future will be forced to think again. Contributors: Giles David Arceneaux, Mark S. Bell, Christopher Clary, Peter D. Feaver, Jeffrey Lewis, Rose McDermott, Nicholas L. Miller, Vipin Narang, Ankit Panda, Scott D. Sagan, Caitlin Talmadge, Heather Williams, Amy Zegart