New Frontiers, Old Realities
Abstract
The coming war with China will be fought for control of outer space. Although its effects will be widely felt, the conflict itself will not be visible to those looking up into the night sky. It will not be televised. Most will not even be aware it is occurring. It may already have begun. And yet, this new kind of war will not be so different that it will be unrecognizable. The principles of war and the logic of competition remain as they have always been. Only the context has changed. When we have this mind-set and apply the tenets of traditional realist and geopolitical theories that have survived millennia in their basic forms, the unavoidable conclusion is that the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are on a collision course for war. This article offers an interpretation of the neoclassical geopolitical context that shapes the potential for conflict between the United States and China; places that discussion within a broader theory of strategy, tactics, and war; and assesses the potential for a 21st-century Great Wall in low-Earth orbit.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA569579
Entities
People
- Everett C. Dolman
Organizations
- Air University