A Certain Idea of Space: How Leaders Shape Military Space Posture in Europe

Abstract

Why do regional powers facing similar external constraints adopt different approaches to the military uses of space? The history of Western European space actors, from the Cold War through the present, demonstrates variation in how states and their leaders perceive the space domain and its utility for military purposes, national security, and political ends. We can expect these states to adopt similar capabilities in a tenuous regional security environment and common alliance context. However, Western European states differed in their views on space and the degree of autonomy from the United States they sought, including in terms of military space capabilities. This dissertation investigates the development of military space posture in Western Europe from the Cold War to 2000. I focus on France, Germany, and the United Kingdom because they are Europe's most powerful political, economic, and military actors and faced similar external constraints during the Cold War. I argue national leaders and heads of government refract inputs from the international system through their unique strategic outlooks to produce distinct military space posture outcomes. Domestic factors, including budget constraints and industry incentives, further shape national leaders' decisions about military space posture and affect the state's ability to implement military space programs in response to systemic shifts. Using qualitative analysis, archival documents, interviews, and process tracing, I assess my hypotheses through detailed historical case studies on the development of military space posture outcomes in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Understanding how leaders shape military space posture adds value to current debates about space security in the New Space Age and heightened great power competition. Additionally, this dissertation makes a modest contribution to the history of military space programs in Europe.