At the Elliott School of International Affairs
In a recent podcast interview with the Planetary Society’s Planetary Radio, SPI Director Scott Pace speaks to the strategic value of the Artemis Accords and how the return to the moon can uniquely drive greater space exploration. Check out the full interview on episode the August 4, 2023 episode: “Why lunar exploration must be of enduring national interest.”
Congratulations to Zeke Clayson, Frank Spellman, Shiv Patel, and Dan Shen on the publication of their commentary, “Space Mission Authorization: Enabling the Final Frontier,” in War on the Rocks.
“Secret Partners: The National Reconnaissance Office and the Intelligence-Industrial-Academ
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On July 24, the 2023 cohort of the Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) on U.S. Foreign Policy visited the Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School of International Affairs. A diverse and inclusive group of 16 scholars from 16 different nationalities (Bangladesh; Cameroon; Chile; China; Egypt; Georgia; Hungary; India; Kazakhstan; Malaysia; North Macedonia; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Poland/UAE; and, Turkey) was welcome for a lecture on “U.S. Foreign Policy and Outer Space” by Dr Bruno Reynaud de Sousa, Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Space Policy Institute. Dr. de Sousa is also an alumnus of the SUSI exchange program on U.S. Foreign Policy (academic year 2020/2021).
This year is the first time space policy has been a highlight of the program. This particular U.S. Institute is hosted by the University of Delaware and coordinated by the Department of Political Science & International Relations at the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration. The program studies the formulation and implementation of contemporary U.S. foreign policy, including key players such as government branches, media, NGOs, and multilateral institutions. Topics covered include American sovereignty, globalism, foreign aid, trade policies, immigration, border safety, and cybersecurity.
U.S. Embassies manage the nomination of candidates and organize participants’ visa interviews and international travel to the United States. In some countries, candidates may also be selected by a binational Fulbright Commission. SUSIs are part of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs exchange programs aimed at improving teaching about the United States. Scholars from all over the world attend a six-week program that includes academic coursework, panel discussions, and educational tours in different regions of the U.S. (Source: https://exchanges.state.gov/
SPI faculty member Dr. John Klein was quoted in a SpaceNews article about the U.S. Space Force’s focus on resiliency in their latest budget.
This reflects Space Force’s competitive endurance strategy, and the recognition of a persistent technological competition with China in space, as other adversaries develop asymmetrical capabilities.
The piece analyzes how resiliency is being incorporated into the tenets of this strategy to ensure access to satellite services for U.S. military forces and allies.
“What is new is that the U.S. Space Force more specifically recognizes resilience as part of deterrence. It’s deterrence by denial of benefits. It’s telling enemies that no matter what you do, it’s not going to matter. You’re not going to stop me.”
Dr. John Klein
SPI faculty member Dr. John Klein was quoted in a Breaking Defense article regarding how General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations of the United States Space Force, seeks to expand the service’s mindset to defending the Joint Force across multiple domains from space-enabled attacks.
New adversarial capabilities in space that threaten terrestrial domains have justified this shift beyond protecting interests in space, and the Space Force must consider offensive capabilities to counter them.
Dr. Klein discussed how this recognition is influencing the development of the Space Force’s doctrine, and how it clarifies the need to update Joint Doctrine with current space operational thinking.
“To me, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, because the land, sea, and air domains have readily acknowledged the need to have both defensive and offensive approaches, strategies, and operations. Because space is not special, just wonderfully different, the idea of including defensive and offensive thinking makes strategic sense.”
Dr. John Klein
Jonathan C. Clark won first prize for his paper: “Small Businesses in Space: Updates to Space-Related Small Business Procurement.” The paper has also been pubished in the Public Contract Law Journal.
Celine Der Boghosian, Megan Thompson, and Victoria Woodburn shared second place for their co-written paper: “A New Era of Space Collaboration: Mitigating Barriers to Cooperation Between Commercial and Government Space Actors.”
Shreya Lad won third prize for her paper: “SDI to Technological Sovereignty: The Evolution of Strategic Autonomy in Science and Technology Policy in France.”
