Dr Bleddyn Bowen

Lecturer in International Relations

Contact Details

Email: bb215@leicester.ac.uk
Twitter: @bleddb
Tel: +44 (0)116 252 2469
Office: Attenborough 1117
Feedback and Support Times (Semester 2, 2019-20): Wednesdays, 11:30-12:30; Thursdays, 11:30-12:30
Dissertation Hour (Semester 2, 2019-20): Thursday 13:30-14:30
Research Day: Friday

Personal

I joined HyPIR in January 2018, and I am the Postgraduate Teaching Director for the School’s MA programmes in International Relations. Information on our MA offerings can be found here, or please email me to ask for more details. I am usually available for media comment on my areas of expertise (see below).

My primary research interests concern modern warfare, politics, and security in outer space, as well as classical strategic theory. I am an internationally recognised academic expert in space warfare, the military uses of outer space, and astropolitics. If you choose to base your BA or MA dissertation within the topics of strategy, the Cold War, and/or space politics during your time with us it is likely I will supervise your projects!

I provide research-led teaching in my 3rd year specialist module ‘Politics and War in Outer Space’, and introduce students to contemporary history, strategy, global politics, and the conduct of international relations in first year module ‘Cold War, Crisis, and Confrontation’. I also take a more ‘casual’ academic interest in 18-19th century international and military history and the conduct and study of strategy in general, and provide additional teaching support throughout the School.

I communicate often with industry and policy communities in the UK space and defence sectors, and have appeared before the UK House of Commons’ Exiting the EU Select Committee to provide evidence on the impact of Brexit on UK space policy and the UK’s involvement in EU space projects. I have appeared on many media outlets, such as Sky News, BBC Radio 4, 5 Live, Radio Cymru, Radio Wales, S4C, Radio FM4 (Austria), talkRADIO, and ARTE TV to provide expert analysis on modern warfare and security issues in both Welsh and English languages. I have been quoted as an expert in space policy in numerous print and online outlets such as The Times, The Financial Times, The Economist, CNBC, Le Monde, Wired, GB Times, Space News, and Politico. I have also featured on the podcasts Brexit Unspun, The Dead Prussian, and The Space Show, and have published in several academic journals and written op-eds for many outlets (see list below).

Before joining HyPIR at Leicester in January 2018, I was a Lecturer in Defence Studies at the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London, which is embedded at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham. Prior to that, I was a Teaching Fellow at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, where I also studied for my various degrees. During my PhD at Aberystwyth University I was also a Visiting Scholar at the Space Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. in Spring 2014.

Media requests

If you are a journalist, broadcaster, or media researcher and would like to arrange an expert interview or media appearance for your item or news story, please email me at my address above. I can provide interviews in both Welsh and English on areas including but not limited to:

- American, British, Chinese, European space policy
- Space warfare, military space services (e.g. space force)
- Space arms control
- The politics of space debris, space mining, resource sharing in space
- Missile defence, nuclear weapons
- Military doctrine and theory
- High-technology conventional warfare

Research Interests:

Spacepower theory
Space warfare
Space security
Space policy
Strategic theory/Military philosophy
Modern Warfare and Stratergy

I am currently working on turning my doctoral dissertation on spacepower theory into a monograph.

I convene the informal research group The Astropolitics Collective.

Education

PhD, International Politics, Aberystwyth University

MScEcon, Security Studies, Aberystwyth University

MScEcon, Strategic Studies, Aberystwyth University

BScEcon, International Politics, Aberystwyth University

Teaching

I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

PL3144 Politics and War in Outer Space

PL1015 Cold War, Crisis, and Confrontation: International Relations 1945-1989

Publications

(Forthcoming) ‘Space Oddities: Law, War, and the Proliferation of Spacepower,’ in Ernst Dijxhoorn and James Gow, ed., Law, War, and 21st Century Technologies (Routledge)

(2019) ‘From the sea to outer space: The command of space as the foundation of spacepower theory’, Journal of Strategic Studies 42:3-4 (first online in 2017)

(2019) ‘Space Oddities: Law, War, and the Proliferation of Spacepower,’ in Ernst Dijxhoorn and James Gow, ed., Law, War, and 21st Century Technologies (Routledge)

(2018) ‘The RAF and Space Doctrine: A Second Century and a Second Space Age’, RUSI Journal

(2018) ‘British security strategy and outer space: a missing link?’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations

(2018) ‘Astropolitics and International Relations’ in Tom James, ed. Deep Space Commodities (Springer)

(2017) ‘From the sea to outer space: The command of space as the foundation of spacepower theory’, Journal of Strategic Studies.

(2017) Review: ‘Space Warfare in the 21^st Century: Arming the Heavens’, E-IR, 12 April.

(2014) ‘Cascading Crises: Orbital Debris and the Widening of Space Security’, Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Politics & Policy,

(2014) ‘EU Astrostrategy: Spaceship Europe at Sanctuary’s End’, in Majer, M., Ondrejcsák, R., ed., Panorama of Global Security Environment 2013, Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs (Bratislava: CENAA).

Op-eds

(2018) ‘Donald Trump’s Space Force isn’t as new or as dangerous as it seems’, The Conversation
(2018) ‘Better the devil you know? Galileo, Brexit, and British Defence Space Strategy’, Defence-in-Depth
(2018) ‘Satellite Hacking: The Politics of Cybersecurity in Space’, Cyber Security Practitioner

(2018) Leaving Spaceship Europe: British space policy after Brexit’, LSE Politics and Policy Blog

(2018)‘The Art of Space Deterrence’, European Leadership Network

(2017) ‘National security in an independent Wales: Intelligence and military considerations’, Nation.Cymru.

(2017) 'China’s New Silk Road and the Middle East in a Multipolar Space Order', Space Watch Middle East.

(2017) ‘Space warfare in the Pentagon: In support of an independent space corps’, Defence In Depth,

(2017) ‘Putting the Red Dragon on top of it: A Welsh space economy.

(2017) ‘Missile defence and spacepower: A panel proceeding at ISA 2017’, Defence In Depth,

(2017) ‘China’s space weapons test ten years on: Behemoth pulls the peasants’ plough’, Defence In Depth,

(2016) ‘The Other Red Dragon Rising? Wales, Outer Space, and Politics’, Planet: The Welsh Internationalist, Issue 221

(2016) ‘It’s about reaching the decision, not victory: strategic theory and the difficulty of taking action’, Defence In Depth.