Space Warfare: Strategy, Principles and Policy, Second Edition

324 pages

 

Dr James WE Smith, King’s College London

*For transparency: the reviewer was provided with an advance electronic copy of the publication, and his own work is referenced in this book.

It may not have escaped many that there has been increased discussion about events in space, particularly the use of space for both military purposes and matters such as increased commercial competition and state-on-state competition. Of course, space has always been a militarised domain with its roots in the early Cold War and the story of the first space race ingrained in many generations. Technology and our civilisational dependency on space and assets in orbit have only increased, leading to growing competition and attention, even leading to the formation of a dedicated US military force, ‘Space Force’, in 2019. Part of this debate has been rhetoric on what space warfare might look like: often taking on science fiction vibes rather than an honest reflection of reality.

This reviewer’s argument––to set some context––has been for some time that the intellectual output to truly understand space from a strategic studies perspective covering topics like geopolitics, (astro) strategy, doctrinal and more is that we are somewhere in the 1950s on the subject. The argument is similar to those formational years of atomic and nuclear warfare where scholars, civilian and military, are trying to work out how this new technology will work and how it, if at all, fits in existing theories and plans of strategy and ways of warfare. As we know, it was only until the combination of enough experience and intellectual study that a sufficient body of scholarly work was gathered that a more mature, accessible understanding for the military, policymakers, and others was possible. Shifting from open nuclear warfare to deterrence in that case, once the outcome of a nuclear exchange was understood adequately for the disaster it would be. By comparison, space is in the odd situation where, unlike land and sea, there are centuries of strategic study and experience to turn to in which to gain insight to develop sound national doctrine or operational strategy, and you can turn to names like Clausewitz and Corbett for guidance, space lacks similar scholarship to what they did. How exactly space warfare, space power and other matters would work in themselves and, common to maritime, truly impact what happens on land has been a relatively open question. Much of this has led to guesswork, dodgy theories and assumptions which serve no one; this can even be found today in serious governmental documentation where silly rhetoric on the military use of space exists like: “the ultimate high ground”. This is promulgated by the more extreme land-based air power theorists trying to reinvent themselves for the future.

Fortunately for us, John J. Klein, a former US Naval Aviator, cuts through much of the chaff and nonsense in his latest treatise: Space Warfare, Second Edition. Like Corbett and Clausewitz, Klein is attempting to build up the scholarship to discuss space in the areas that matter, and he does it well. This is his second edition of Space Warfare, which underlines the pace of advancement in space, something historians and thinkers before Klein had to grapple with at a far slower pace. Importantly, he makes the topic accessible by setting it in a framework that is accessible to many, military or civilian, policymaker or decision-maker. The book is meticulously well-presented in a readable but formal style. The book is logically organised and unfolds at an appropriate pace that works through the issues that matter to try and understand how the increasing activity of humans in space, nations hostile or otherwise, could shape the future of warfare both on Earth and in space.

There are solid maritime connections here, one navies and naval personnel should not ignore, particularly as the discussion on space and the ‘military space mission’ has become wrongly dominated by air forces and land-based air power concepts, which is a stupid mistake to let run free. Sadly, the demons of interservice rivalry and defence unification have infiltrated space too. Navies remain key customers to the use of space assets, and as always, so do the intelligence services, at least in Britain, who have their naval roots. In addition, the human cultural connection between exploring Earth through the oceans, to our adventures in space and the connectivity to civilian enterprises like science should not be ignored: something navies have long been associated with, time and location being one, and mindful its aeroNAUTICS after all. You’ll find in Klein’s work a thorough discussion of helpful analogies for space with strong maritime strategic connections.

What Klein offers in this book is where you need to start to understand the complex topics and everything associated with space warfare, ranging from national power, astropolitics, space communications, and more. It’s a long list and is covered well. The book should adjourn the bookshelves of anyone wanting to collect the best coverage of all military domains by adding space to their collections. Klein is securing himself as a key thinker on space warfare and enabling the much-needed mature intellectual and highly researched discussion on space. This book will appeal to strategic studies students, military personnel of all services, and those interested in space power, defence and international relations. Highly recommended.