Written By: Aurora D’Auria
Supervised By: Finn Seiffert, Élea Huguet
Edited By: Alexandra Huggins
ABSTRACT
Space is changing, increasingly becoming a more contested, congested and militarized domain. Yet, the European Union’s space architecture has historically been dual-use, with defence functions layered on systems originally designed for commercial and civilian purposes. In this context, this research investigates whether the EU’s civilian-first and dual-use approach creates vulnerabilities when responding to emerging space threats. Furthermore, the paper analyses how defence functions are embedded within existing governance frameworks. The study argues that the EU’s dual-use architecture generates three key constraints: deterrence ambiguity, resilience deficits and governance latency. Together, these limitations restrict the EU’s ability to operate as a coherent defence actor in an increasingly contested space domain.
