Alan Rusbridger, the then editor-in-chief of the Guardian in his 2010 Andrew Olle Media Lecture, stated, “News organisations still break lots of news. But, increasingly, news happens first on Twitter. If you’re a regular Twitter user, even if you’re in the news business and have access to wires, the chances are that you’ll check out many rumours of breaking news on Twitter first. ...Read more >

Like oil or data, water is an integral part of the world’s economy. Although about 71 per cent of the earth’s surface is water-covered, the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water which is salt water. Freshwater, most of it is frozen in glaciers, accounts for the rest. That leaves less than 1 per cent of the world’s water available to support human and ecological processes. We withdraw 4.3 trillion cubic meters of freshwater every year from the earth’s water basins. ...Read more >

Since 1990, China has used coercion for territorial disputes, foreign arms sales to Taiwan, and foreign leaders’ meetings with the Dalai Lama, despite adverse implications for its international image. China is also curiously selective in the timing, target, and tools of coercion: most cases of Chinese coercion are not military coercion, nor does China use coercion against all states that pose the same threats to its national security. The question regarding China’s coercion patterns– ...Read more >

Alan Rusbridger, the then editor-in-chief of the Guardian in his 2010 Andrew Olle Media Lecture, stated, “News organisations still break lots of news. But, increasingly, news happens first on Twitter. If you’re a regular Twitter user, even if you’re in the news business and have access to wires, the chances are that you’ll check out many rumours of breaking news on Twitter first. ...Read more >

From a security perspective, an increasing number of countries are looking to use space to enhance their military capabilities and national security. The growing use of, and reliance on, space for national security has also led more countries to look at developing their own counterspace capabilities that can be used to deceive, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy space systems. The existence of counterspace capabilities is not new, but the circumstances surrounding them are. Today ...Read more >

Department of Space (DOS) being the administrative ministry in respect of space activities in India as per the allocation of Business Rules of Government of India, shall issue appropriate norms, guidelines and procedures from time to time for the space based remote sensing activities for the developmental purposes in India. Accordingly, a draft “Space-based Remote Sensing Policy of India (SpaceRS Policy 2020)” and draft ...Read more >

Sometimes, slow, steady changes produce revolutionary results. A case in point is missile and space technologies. Long-range missiles, satellites, and space launch vehicles used to be high technology exclusive to the superpowers. Now, scores of states have both. As for ballistic missiles and drones, even non-state actors have them, and these systems are far more accurate than anything the superpowers had even at the height of the Cold ...Read more >

I n direct response to the launch of the Sputnik 1 Soviet spacecraft, pioneers in the U.S. military orchestrated a series of milestones that propelled America’s status as the preeminent spacefaring Nation. Launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 31 January 1958, the U.S. Army spacecraft Explorer 1 was the first American spacecraft to orbit the Earth.3 Two months later, the U.S. Navy successfully orbited Vanguard 1, demonstrating the first solar powered spacecraft.4 That same ...Read more >

Movies portray wars in space much as they do wars on Earth. Starfighters dogfight with unlimited maneuverability and range. Troop transports drop from orbit to celestial surfaces to deliver space marines. But that is not how a real war in space would look for decades, if ever. The space-to-space engagements in a modern conflict would be fought solely with un-crewed vehicles controlled by operators on the ground and heavily constrained by the limits physics imposes on movement in ...Read more >

This report explores the missions and organization of China’s military space enterprise. It focuses on the organizational structure of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Strategic Support Force (SSF). Created on December 31, 2015, as part of a major reorganization of China’s military, the SSF is charged with developing and employing most of the PLA’s space capabilities. Tasked with integrating space more closely into operations, the creation of the SSF signifies an important shift ...Read more >

The U.S. government has launched a Space Force with the congressional passage and presidential signature of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. On February 19, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed a directive ordering the Department of Defense to submit a legislative proposal for the establishment of the U.S. Space Force within the Department of the Air Force as a sixth branch of the armed forces, and Congress has now acted to create the ...Read more >

The role of information warfare in global strategic competition has become much more apparent in recent years. Today’s practitioners of what this report terms hostile social manipulation employ targeted social media campaigns, sophisticated forgeries, cyberbullying and harassment of individuals, distribution of rumors and conspiracy theories, and other tools and approaches to cause damage to the target ...Read more >

The study of warfare and its theory development have uncovered several preeminent principles that drive universal efforts in pursuit of military supremacy. Two of those fundamentals are the enduring pursuit of technological advance to generate superiority over an enemy and the securing of the high ground to enable strategic surveillance and intelligence. These two tenets of warfare quickly, naturally, and perhaps unknowingly converged as man turned its eyes to ...Read more >

Space stability is a fundamental U.S. national security interest. Unfortunately, that stability may be eroding. Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. military forces have repeatedly demonstrated their dominance in conventional warfare, and future enemies will be well aware that the dramatic warfighting advantage that U.S. forces possess is largely the result of support from space. With a growing number of states acquiring the ability to degrade or destroy U.S. ...Read more >

In today’s world, a nation’s development is contingent on the sustainable development of its various industries, with the private sector playing a major role. A strong ecosystem of private players along with the presence of government regulatory agencies is widely held to be the recipe for successful industrialisation. Private players bring in the necessary capital, technical know-how and business acumen, which is complemented by government’s policy decisions and actions towards ...Read more >

India must accept and deal with the reality that conflicts and wars in today’s world will be based and driven by the increasing inter-dependence between conventional, nuclear and space war. Capabilities, Capacities, Complexity in Organization and the role of ambiguity and escalation risk in war and war deterrence strategies will be the new parameters along which the game will be played out. The ...Read more >

Access to space is vital to the collective security of the United States and its allies and partners. The Department of Defense (DOD) space policy is focused on deterring adversaries, defending against threats, and pursuing resilient space architectures that contribute to achieving space mission assurance and objectives. Further, the United States must sustain the ability to attribute malicious or irresponsible actions that jeopardize the viability of space for all. Sustained ...Read more >