In general, we tend to have a rather positive relationship with the idea of competition, which is broadly accepted in sports, school, professional life and society. Liberal democracies also distinctly favour the contest between individuals and political parties to achieve the best policy outcome for society and the state. Competition between states, however, rarely comes with such positive associations. Even though relations between states today are governed more than ever by a comprehensive set of legally binding rules that demand...

Note: This article is an abridged version of ‘The New Era of Great Power Competition and the Biden Administration’, published in Joint Force ­Quarterly, N° 103, 4th Quarter 2021. The administration of President Joseph Biden began in early 2021 amid daunting domestic challenges and an evolving era of Great Power Competition (GPC). This era, emerging since 2008, evident since 2014, and on full display since 2017 – features a three-state GPC where the United States, China, and Russia joust for...

On January 17th of 2022, NATO published its ‘Overarching Space Policy’, with almost identical wording: ‘(…) Allies agreed that attacks to, from, or within space present a clear challenge to the security of the Alliance, the impact of which could threaten national and Euro-Atlantic prosperity, security, and stability, and could be as harmful to modern societies as a conventional attack. Such attacks could lead to the invocation of Article 5.’ This part of the communiqué came across as logical, seeing...