Book Project
China’s Quest for Space Power: National Narratives and the Domestic Politics of Status
Why does China pursue expensive and attention-grabbing space capabilities with limited material payoffs? To explain this puzzle, I argue that the Chinese Communist Party pursues status symbols for domestic mobilization and to legitimate its rule at home. These pursuits, however, have unexpected and adverse international consequences, raising threat perceptions and catalyzing security spirals—which can be particularly destabilizing in the domain of outer space. I draw upon data collected from fieldwork carried out in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States. I use data from interviews with Chinese and American individuals focusing on space policy, as well as Chinese-language memoirs, collected writings, official histories, white papers, journal articles, and military textbooks.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“The Potential for Conflict in Cislunar Space: Findings from a Tabletop Exercise” (with Mariel Borowitz, James Clay Moltz, Lawrence Rubin, Svetla Ben-Itzhak, and Gregory Miller; Accepted at Space Policy).
“China’s Branding Problem: Image Management and the U.S.-China Space Relationship” Space Policy Vol.69, 2024.
“Heavenly Mandate: Public Opinion and China’s Space Activities,” Space Policy Vol.60, 2020.
“Chinese Views on Nuclear Weapons: Evidence from an Online Survey” (with Naomi Egel), Research and Politics 8(3), July 2021.
“Communicating Value: Investigating Terminology Challenges in ‘Newspace’ and ‘Commercial Space’” (With Rob Ronci, Ian Christensen, Jose Ocasio-Christian, and Casey Backes) New Space 8(3), 2020.
Book Chapters
“Autocracies and Space Policy: New Directions for Research” in Ed. Thomas Hoerber, Mariel Borowitz, Antonella Forganni, Bruno Reynaud de Sousa (Routledge Handbook on Space Policy).
“Chinese Domestic Politics and the Trade War” in Ed. Hua Shiping, The Political Logic of the US-China Trade War, (Rowman & Littlefield).
“Introduction: The PLA in 2025” (with Roy Kamphausen) in Ed. Roy Kamphausen and David Lai, The Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 2025. Strategic Studies Institute and US Army War College Press, 2015.
“The Future of Chinese Spacepower: Domestic and International Drivers of China’s Space Ambitions’’ in Ed. Heather Venable, The Future of Air and Spacepower: Intersections of Theory and Technology (Forthcoming with Air University Press).
Under Review
“Playing Second Fiddle: Status, Leaders, and Alliance Splits.”
“Lunar Governance with Chinese Characteristics?”
“China’s Space Program and Diversionary Legitimacy: Experimental Evidence.”
“Defending Taiwan: Information, Partisanship, and the Use of Force” (with Andi Zhou).
“Choosing Orbits: The Middle East and U.S.-China Space Competition” (with Lawrence Rubin and Daiana Alagirova).
Works in Progress
“Who Won? Domestic Politics, Status Assessments, and the Cold War Space Race.”
“China’s Long March to Space Power: National Narratives and Status Expectations.”
“Technonationalism, Status, and Chinese Spacepower.”
“China’s Space Power and Its Limits.”
“Rallying and Dividing: Nationalist Rhetoric and its Limits in China” (with Jeremy Wallace).