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Strategy and History
Astropolitik
This volume identifies and evaluates the relationship between outer-space geography and geographic position (astrogeography), and the evolution of current and future military space strategy. In doing so, it explores five primary propositions.
238 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 11, 2025
“Who controls low-Earth orbit controls near-Earth space. Who controls near-Earth space dominates Terra. Who dominates Terra determines the destiny of humankind.”
Space exploration can’t succeed without a cold war esque competition and an opening up to commercialization, both of which we sort of have now. Space is the ultimate high ground, and if you can’t dominate it you at least have to prevent someone else from doing so. The same idea of Mahan’s “sea power” (Dune?) extends to space power. Control of strategic trade routes and choke points is necessary for hegemonic control of space.
What is seriously overlooked is that a hyper nationalist competition in space could escalate into a terrestrial nuclear war. That would put a damper on the whole “destiny of mankind” thing.
Space exploration can’t succeed without a cold war esque competition and an opening up to commercialization, both of which we sort of have now. Space is the ultimate high ground, and if you can’t dominate it you at least have to prevent someone else from doing so. The same idea of Mahan’s “sea power” (Dune?) extends to space power. Control of strategic trade routes and choke points is necessary for hegemonic control of space.
What is seriously overlooked is that a hyper nationalist competition in space could escalate into a terrestrial nuclear war. That would put a damper on the whole “destiny of mankind” thing.
December 27, 2021
A very creditable summary of the geopolitics of space and the implications that has for grand strategy. While far from flawless, it is the best work of the type I have read to date (I have not yet read "Scramble for the Skies", however). It stands in very stark contrast to the execrable "Dark Skies" by Duedney, a contrast made all the stronger by the fact that Dolman fully acknowledges Duedney's contribution to the geopolitical literature at many points in the book and builds on it, while Duedney largely ignores and never answers the wildly disagreeing points in "Astropolitik"
Where the book is weakest is when it goes to draw conclusions; it suffers from the era in which it was written, in that brief period between the end of the Cold War and various major mistakes by the United States and the rise of China in which it seemed credible that the United States could act alone. I doubt that such a situation really ever existed, but surely it does not now exist. However, while the *means* proposed by Dolman of unilateral action are no longer relevant, the *ends* of a more Mahan-like approach of a space policy based on commerce, the expansion of commerce, and a military posture of protecting the freedom of commerce, have, by fits and starts, and as much by accident as by plan, gradually advanced.
A "must read" for anyone interested in the strategy of space, and in my opinion, improves over the older, foundational work, "Space Power Theory" by Oberg.
Where the book is weakest is when it goes to draw conclusions; it suffers from the era in which it was written, in that brief period between the end of the Cold War and various major mistakes by the United States and the rise of China in which it seemed credible that the United States could act alone. I doubt that such a situation really ever existed, but surely it does not now exist. However, while the *means* proposed by Dolman of unilateral action are no longer relevant, the *ends* of a more Mahan-like approach of a space policy based on commerce, the expansion of commerce, and a military posture of protecting the freedom of commerce, have, by fits and starts, and as much by accident as by plan, gradually advanced.
A "must read" for anyone interested in the strategy of space, and in my opinion, improves over the older, foundational work, "Space Power Theory" by Oberg.
March 8, 2015
Prescient plea for benevolent political hegemony (achieved by militarization) and productive economic competition in space. Heralding the current rebirth of the space age.
January 26, 2025
Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age
5/2025.
Who wants to play a game of Risk in the solar system? Here’s a rule book.
Written way back in 2002, Dolman here tries to do for space strategy what Alfred Thayer Mahan did for naval strategy: explain it as an area of practical activity, based on historical empirical evidence. A lot has happened in space since then, but the fundamental issues are the same: how can a power use space for defense and deny use of space to its adversary powers? The result here is mixed.
He sagely leaves open the possibility that military competition in space may give way to economic competition- the proliferation of commercial space in the 2020’s, many components of which are seen as “national champions” by their respective powers, seems to be just that. Therefore, powers should ensure their ability to get that economic value for themselves.
Dolman also concerns himself with how necessary military might will he, with a (now out of fashion) sense that liberal democracy was on the march and would soon be the sole form of government around the world. Time hasn’t shown that progress to be inevitable or rapid, and this military strength is still a need for powers.
In fact, Dolman’s dictum here “Who controls low-Earth orbit controls near-Earth space. Who controls near-Earth space dominates Terra. Who dominates Terra determines the destiny of humankind” is the start of all the national-champion nonsense that has seen one great power seek to deny another any access to LEO orbits and spectrum for commercial purposes, almost regardless of secondary effects and political cost. That is, it has become dogma and not strategy.
Gravity is, for him, the deterministic but invisible topographic factor here: well worn paths emerge where gravity is more manageable, like transfer orbits between space objects (he envisions manned stations to proliferate), parking in the GSO belt or using the moon (4.5% of fuel costs compared to Terran launch) as a base. Those who occupy gravitational high ground (for instance, high LEO planes) would have a firepower and maneuverability advantage in conflict with those at lower ground. Likewise, controlling the the lanes through the Van Allen belts could allow a power to decide who gets to go farther out of earth orbit for things like lunar colonization or space mining.
Chapter 5 gives a great overview of the origins of space law and the negotiation history of the Outer Space Treaty. Despite Dolman’s insistence (disproven by 20 years of private and public innovation) that competition is a better inducer for space activity, it seems that cooperative action is by far preferable, and space is an area of great power cooperation- with one exception. The US has consistently excluded China from space cooperation even while working with the USSR and Russia (coop-etition?). That could backfire in coming years, as China sees less need for US cooperation and does more on its own: with the goal of resource exploitation for China, at the expense of the US.
Overall, the book shows its age, especially as an example of post-Cold War gloating about the superiority of capitalism. It’s not clear Dolman saw the rise of China, even though it was evident by 2001, when this was being written. Dolman salivates over putting people into space with an accelerated manned space flight program, but aside from “firing the imagination”, it’s unclear what an expensive program would aim to do. He has a patriotic belief in american goodness that verges on blindness. Somehow America is meant to apply Third Reich “Geopolitik” but take away all the nasty bits like genocide because we are well meaning people? That’s a dubious proposition on a good day. Even so, he cautions it means less social spending to support the space industry, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly.
5/2025.
Who wants to play a game of Risk in the solar system? Here’s a rule book.
Written way back in 2002, Dolman here tries to do for space strategy what Alfred Thayer Mahan did for naval strategy: explain it as an area of practical activity, based on historical empirical evidence. A lot has happened in space since then, but the fundamental issues are the same: how can a power use space for defense and deny use of space to its adversary powers? The result here is mixed.
He sagely leaves open the possibility that military competition in space may give way to economic competition- the proliferation of commercial space in the 2020’s, many components of which are seen as “national champions” by their respective powers, seems to be just that. Therefore, powers should ensure their ability to get that economic value for themselves.
Dolman also concerns himself with how necessary military might will he, with a (now out of fashion) sense that liberal democracy was on the march and would soon be the sole form of government around the world. Time hasn’t shown that progress to be inevitable or rapid, and this military strength is still a need for powers.
In fact, Dolman’s dictum here “Who controls low-Earth orbit controls near-Earth space. Who controls near-Earth space dominates Terra. Who dominates Terra determines the destiny of humankind” is the start of all the national-champion nonsense that has seen one great power seek to deny another any access to LEO orbits and spectrum for commercial purposes, almost regardless of secondary effects and political cost. That is, it has become dogma and not strategy.
Gravity is, for him, the deterministic but invisible topographic factor here: well worn paths emerge where gravity is more manageable, like transfer orbits between space objects (he envisions manned stations to proliferate), parking in the GSO belt or using the moon (4.5% of fuel costs compared to Terran launch) as a base. Those who occupy gravitational high ground (for instance, high LEO planes) would have a firepower and maneuverability advantage in conflict with those at lower ground. Likewise, controlling the the lanes through the Van Allen belts could allow a power to decide who gets to go farther out of earth orbit for things like lunar colonization or space mining.
Chapter 5 gives a great overview of the origins of space law and the negotiation history of the Outer Space Treaty. Despite Dolman’s insistence (disproven by 20 years of private and public innovation) that competition is a better inducer for space activity, it seems that cooperative action is by far preferable, and space is an area of great power cooperation- with one exception. The US has consistently excluded China from space cooperation even while working with the USSR and Russia (coop-etition?). That could backfire in coming years, as China sees less need for US cooperation and does more on its own: with the goal of resource exploitation for China, at the expense of the US.
Overall, the book shows its age, especially as an example of post-Cold War gloating about the superiority of capitalism. It’s not clear Dolman saw the rise of China, even though it was evident by 2001, when this was being written. Dolman salivates over putting people into space with an accelerated manned space flight program, but aside from “firing the imagination”, it’s unclear what an expensive program would aim to do. He has a patriotic belief in american goodness that verges on blindness. Somehow America is meant to apply Third Reich “Geopolitik” but take away all the nasty bits like genocide because we are well meaning people? That’s a dubious proposition on a good day. Even so, he cautions it means less social spending to support the space industry, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly.
June 2, 2025
Uma visão muito interessante sobre geo-estratégia e a sua evolução ao longo da história. O impacto da geografia e dos recursos no desenvolvimento das civilizações e das suas relações. Uma visão crítica para construir os pilares da análise da situação do século XXI na exploração espacial.
A opção por cooperação vs competição tomada nos anos 1960 em plena guerra fria parece ter colocado a humanidade numa pausa evolutiva sobre a conquista do espaço. A sugestão de os EUA assumirem um papel primordial e de romperem o status-quo é algo a considerar mas que deve ser matizado com as tendências políticas atuais. Um governo instável emocionalmente, com informação errada ou interpretada de forma simplista e com fugas de informação significativas será um perigo na gestão unilateral do espaço.
Para a Europa, é um alerta sobre o pensamento estratégico do outro lado do Atlântico.
Vale a pena ler, embora sendo de leitura dificil.
A opção por cooperação vs competição tomada nos anos 1960 em plena guerra fria parece ter colocado a humanidade numa pausa evolutiva sobre a conquista do espaço. A sugestão de os EUA assumirem um papel primordial e de romperem o status-quo é algo a considerar mas que deve ser matizado com as tendências políticas atuais. Um governo instável emocionalmente, com informação errada ou interpretada de forma simplista e com fugas de informação significativas será um perigo na gestão unilateral do espaço.
Para a Europa, é um alerta sobre o pensamento estratégico do outro lado do Atlântico.
Vale a pena ler, embora sendo de leitura dificil.
Read
June 13, 2020An alternative to vicious space rivalry seems rather idealistic than feasible. Reading this book in 2020 has marked the collaboration of state-technology with business innovation, where the fundamental to space colonisation has never faded, just a bit far-fetched from everyday lives. Instead of trying to reverse the intention for outer adventure, we should spread the criticality to the mass public to engage a broader social supervisory, if that's the case, Dolman has done enough for his contribution.
February 16, 2021
Tough to get started on, but it was a well researched and interesting read.
September 7, 2021
i hope can read this book
November 24, 2024
A very compelling way to define future politics and policy of space should the preconditions be realized. Definitely worth a revision with respect to the current state of affairs.
March 10, 2013
He who dominates LEO dominates space.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews