Star Wars 2026: Militarisation, Conflict and International Law in Outer Space

International Law Breakfast Briefing with PhD student Denitza Petrounova, University of Vienna.

War in, from, or through outer space has returned to political and legal debate with a rhetoric that seems to send us half a century back. In 2026, we stand 49 years after the first Star Wars film, 47 years after the last major international treaty aimed at governing outer space, and 43 years after U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” speech launching the Strategic Defense Initiative. The militarisation of space is not a new concept – but it has a new reality.

Today, virtually all modern military operations depend on space-based infrastructure. Multiple states are testing a growing range of capabilities from and against objects in orbit. Ukraine may become the first state with a Space Force actively engaged in armed conflict. The European Space Agency has reinterpreted the requirement of “exclusively peaceful purposes” in its Convention to include European space defence projects. And the U.S., under President Donald Trump, has announced the “Golden Dome” initiative for space-based missile interception.

While institutions such as the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as many states argue that international humanitarian law fully applies to activities in outer space, there is little agreement on how existing rules should be interpreted, and even less momentum towards new binding legal instruments. Meanwhile, both states and private actors are rapidly expanding their capabilities in a legally and politically fragmented environment that increasingly resembles a strategic Wild West.

This presentation will trace recent factual and legal developments in the militarisation of outer space and explore how the “final frontier” is becoming the stage of a race for the strategic high ground.

Bio

Denitza Petrounova is a PhD candidate in public international law (space law, law of armed conflict) at the University of Vienna and a 2023-2025 DOC Fellow of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

About the series

The International Law Breakfast Briefings offer a regular opportunity for researchers, practitioners, and students with an interest in international law to meet, exchange views, and share research findings on current issues in the field.

Format: Each session features a presentation of approximately 20-25 minutes, followed by a discussion. Unless otherwise specified, both the presentation and discussion will be conducted in English. Coffee and croissants will be available for all registered participants attending in person.

Researchers – including PhD students – and practitioners working in the field of international law who are interested in presenting at one of our upcoming sessions in the fall series are warmly invited to contact cornelius.wiesener@jur.ku.dk or astrid.kjeldgaard-pedersen@jur.ku.dk.