Man, State, and War in Space: Neorealism and Russia’s Counterbalancing Strategy Against the United States in Outer Space Security Politics

Abstract

This paper aspires to contribute to the limited field of neorealist scholarship on security affairs in outer space by conducting a case study of the Russian Federation’s security policy in the celestial sphere. In recent years, Russia has emerged as one of the key players in the international politics of outer space. However, Russia’s strategy of developing its space defense assets, while in parallel launching diplomatic initiatives in international organizations calling for the avoidance of an arms race in outer space, is ambiguous. I argue that the neorealist paradigm elucidates this case by highlighting the intensifying balancing trajectories of contemporary outer space security affairs. In a first step, hypotheses on states’ behavior in the field of outer space armament and arms control are derived from the body of neorealist scholarship on terrestrial international politics. This is followed by hypothesis testing against the case of Russia’s space security politics. It is contended that Russia is engaging in a predominantly competitive endeavor vis-à-vis the United States by utilizing a hybrid approach of internal and external balancing, as well as a pragmatic instrumentalization of international institutions to leverage its own economically disadvantaged position in outer space.