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Security Cooperation in Space and International Relations Theory

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Handbook of Space Security

Abstract

This chapter resorts to international relations theory to explain various patterns of security cooperation in space. There have been several attempts for security cooperation but the success was limited. While neorealism explains this lack of cooperation with the difficulties to achieve balanced gains, for neoinstitutionalism, the central hurdle is the establishment of effective rules and mechanisms to verify the compliance of states. For a constructivist/liberal account, the main problem lies in the dominant beliefs about the value of unilateral space policies. Taken together these three theoretical perspectives provide a comprehensive account of security cooperation in space.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This chapter is partly based on Max M. Mutschler (2013).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin, Germany

    Max M. Mutschler

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  1. Max M. Mutschler
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Correspondence to Max M. Mutschler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European Space Agency, Paris, France

    Kai-Uwe Schrogl

  2. George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Peter L. Hays

  3. European External Action Service, Brussels, Belgium

    Jana Robinson

  4. European Defence Agency, Brussels, Belgium

    Denis Moura

  5. European Space Agency, Paris, France

    Christina Giannopapa

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Mutschler, M.M. (2015). Security Cooperation in Space and International Relations Theory. In: Schrogl, KU., Hays, P., Robinson, J., Moura, D., Giannopapa, C. (eds) Handbook of Space Security. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2029-3_71

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