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Abstract:
Dr. Aaron Bateman will discuss how the United States has leveraged allies since the Cold War to secure access to strategic territory overseas that enables it to project power through space. In analyses of space competition, scholars and policy experts have focused on activities in orbit and neglected the global terrestrial infrastructure necessary for military and civilian space operations. Access to overseas territories for basing space infrastructure has long been a source of comparative U.S. advantage and has important implications for U.S. - China competition today.

Speaker: Dr. Aaron Bateman (Assistant Professor of History and International Affairs, The George Washington University)

Speakers’ Profile:
Dr. Aaron Bateman is an assistant professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University in Washington DC. He is an expert on technology and international security. He is the author of the award-winning book Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative (MIT Press, 2024). He previously served as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer.

Moderator: Yoko Iwama, Professor, GRIPS

Discussant: Matthew Brummer. Associate Professor, GRIPS

*We ask that you do not record the forum or take photographs during the forum. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

What is GRIPS Forum?
Since its establishment in 1997, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) has promoted research and education on a wide variety of policy issues. The GRIPS Forum invites specialists from national and local governments as well as academic and business communities to promote policy studies and expand policy networks.