The Ethics and Legality of Space Warfare

Outer space might not seem obvious as a region where the ethics of war would be a significant issue, but there are in fact a number of dimensions that are relevant in this regard, and the imminence of such conflict means that it is an appropriate time to explore its moral, legal and ethical aspects. In the contemporary world, populations of states have become critically dependent upon a vast range of services provided by space satellites. Attacks on such systems have implications that go well beyond the political and strategic effects they might have and yet there has been very little analysis of the ethical implications of space warfare before this study. The Ethics and Legality of Space Warfare demonstrates that space warfare is not simply a question of technologies in conflict, but that it has profound moral implications that need to be taken into account for a full understanding of the implications of conducting such warfare