The London School of Economics and Political Science China, India in Space and the Orbit of International Society: Power, Status, and Order on the High Frontier Dimitrios Stroikos A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, November 2016 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99787 words. 2 To the memory of my friend Giannis Magalios (1983-2004) 3 Abstract This thesis is about the space programmes of China and India, and space as international society. Drawing on key concepts of the English School theory, the argument of the thesis is twofold. First, employing international society as the central analytical idea, it suggests that it is possible to conceptualise space not merely as a system, but as an international space society with a distinct international social structure. This argument is developed by highlighting how the nature of space as a distinctive sectoral interstate society is manifested in the ways in which its primary institutions are differentiated from such institutions at the global level (war, sovereignty, law, diplomacy, balance of power, great power management, the market) in a historical and comparative context. This helps to highlight the constitutive impact of these institutions on China and India as emerging space powers. It also puts forward ‘techno-nationalism’ as a primary institution of international space society. Second, the thesis argues that the pursuit of China and India’s space programmes has been informed by a particular understanding of techno-nationalism in a postcolonial context, what I call ‘postcolonial techno-nationalism’, which is centred on the development of space technology as a normative indicator of the state’s power, status, and modernity. The enduring influence of postcolonial techno-nationalism reflects how technological advancement was seen to function as a sort of an informal ‘standard of civilisation’ during the expansion of the European society of states in the nineteenth century. Essentially, this thesis provides a useful range of innovative analytical tools to consider the relationship between technology and International Relations and how order is constructed, maintained, and contested in space. It also offers a new lens though which to consider the complex dynamics that shape China and India as rising space powers. 4 Table of Contents Introduction....................................................................................................................9 Chapter 1. The Emergence of a New Frontier: The International Politics of Space in Historical Perspective..................................................................................................................................25 Chapter 2. Space as International Society in Theory and Practice ...........................................57 Chapter 3. Civilisation, Modernity, and the Origins of Techno-nationalism in International Society ........................................................................................................................................88 Chapter 4. The Long March Into Space: China’s Space Programme (1956-1989) ...............114 Chapter 5. Leapfrogging Into Modernity: India’s Space Programme (1955-1989) ..............154 Chapter 6. China and International Space Society (1990-2016).............................................189 Chapter 7. India and International Space Society (1990-2016)..............................................225 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................256 Bibliography............................................................................................................................262 5 Acknowledgements I am delighted to be able to thank a number of people who made possible the completion of this thesis over the last years. First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents, Georgios and Elpida, for their endless support, encouragement, and patience. I am equally indebted to my conscientious supervisor, Prof. Christopher Hughes, for his important support, encouragement, mentorship, and intellectual generosity. His high standards of scholarship have also had a profound impact on my intellectual development and the shape of this thesis. I would also like to thank the examiners of the thesis, Barry Buzan and Daniel Deudney, for their very helpful comments, constructive feedback, and support. Their work had an important influence on the focus and direction of the thesis. I am also grateful for all the support that I received from the Department of International Relations. Special thanks are due to the members of my research panels, Chris Alden, Michael Cox, and Peter Wilson for providing valuable feedback during the course of my research. I would also like to thank Tarak Barkawi, William Callahan, Jurgen Haacke, Mark Hoffman, Kimberly Hutchings, George Lawson, James Morrison, Iver Neumann, James Strong, and Peter Trubowitz. I should also acknowledge the important help I received from the Department’s administrative staff over the years. Outside the Department of International Relations, many scholars were willing to discuss key ideas and concepts put forward in this thesis. I would like to particularly thank Itty Abraham, Anna Agathangelou, William Bain, Brett Bowden, Ian Hall, John Hobson, Shelley Hurt, Edward Keene, Cornelia Navari, Andrew Phillips, Yannis Stivachtis, Shogo Suzuki, Matthew Weinert, Nicholas Wheeler, and Yongjin Zhang. I should also mention a special word of appreciation for Carsten Holbraad and Peter Katzenstein. The community of space specialists is small, but very supportive. Considerable thanks are due to Damon Coletta, Robert Harding, John Krige, James Clay Moltz, M.J. Peterson, and Jill Stuart. I am also grateful to my mentor at Oxford, Rosemary Foot, who first encouraged me to pursue a PhD thesis on the international politics of space and Asia. This is also a good opportunity to thank my mentor, Ilias Kouskouvelis, who first introduced me to the study of International Relations and its relevance to the international politics of space, and my friend, Kyriakos Mikelis, for our long discussions about international relations. I am most grateful to many friends and colleagues who made this journey enjoyable, and to my brother, Emmanouel, for his support and encouragement. Many more deserve to be mentioned that I can acknowledge here, but I would like particularly to thank Aaron McKeil, Georgios Tsakanikas, and Yannis Varzakas for their support and friendship. I would also like to thank Ranj Alaaldin, Kostas Athanasiadis, Mohammed Bhuiyan, David Brenner, Simone Bohnenberger-Rich, Panos Chaliotis, Filippo Costa Buranelli, Konstantina Davaki, Alex Dueben, Athanasios Gkoutzioulis, John Hemmings, Deepak Nair, Penny Nakou, Christos Pantazidis, Leonidas Patouchas, Vassilios Paipais, Ioannis Papagaryfallou, Rahul Sharma, Devon Simons, Heidi Wang-Kaeding, and William Ziyuan Wang. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Hellenic Scholarships Foundation (IKY) and express my gratitude to Panagiotis Ifestos, the appointed supervisor of the scholarship. 6 List of Abbreviations AEC Atomic Energy Commission APSCO Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation ASAT Anti-Satellite Test ASLV Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle CAS Chinese Academy of Sciences CAST Chinese Academy of Space Technology CD Conference on Disarmament CGWIC China Great Wall Industry Company CLEP China’s Lunar Exploration Programme CNSA China National Space Administration COPUOS Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space COSPAR Committee on Space Research COSTIND Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defence CSSTEAP Centre for Space and Science Technology Education in Asia and Pacific DAE Department of Atomic Energy DoS Department of Space DRDO Defence Research and Development Organisation ESA European Space Agency GPS Global Positioning System GSLV Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle IADC Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee IAF International Astronautical Federation IGY International Geophysical Year INCOPSAR Indian National Committee for Space Research INSAT Indian National Satellite System IRNSS Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System IRS Indian Remote Sensing Programme ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation ISS International Space Station ITU International Telecommunication Union MOM Mars Orbiter Mission NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 7 NDSTC National Defence Science and Technology Commission PAROS Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space PLA People’s Liberation Army PRL Physical Research Laboratory PSLV Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle SITE Satellite Instructional Television Experiment