Understanding India’s Uses of Space: Space in India’s Changing Geopolitics

Abstract

Although primarily driven by the need to serve developmental aims, India’s space programme is not limited to the sole pursuit of utilitarian, socio-economic benefits. Space has also been a tool in India’s geopolitical calculus, a dimension that has progressively strengthened since the past decade. Thanks to exploration missions such as Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan, space has increasingly become an asset for boosting national prestige, a prestige directed as much towards its citizens as the international community. Similarly, space has also become a tool of Indian foreign policy and diplomacy, as well as an element in its military modernisation. It is essential to see the context of a growing geopolitical significance of space in light of India’s own growing role on the world stage. Accordingly, the next section will shed light on the most recent developments in India’s foreign policy agenda. The chapter will subsequently elaborate on India’s emerging uses of space for both diplomatic objectives and security needs. Further, considering that space is not only a tool for achieving broader policy objectives but also an arena of strategic interaction, India’s approach vis-a-vis diplomacy and the security of space will also be analysed.