DefinePK

Abstract

Space is no longer a zero-sum game domain but the strategic arena of competition in which deterrence is determined not by threatening force but also by controlling orbital facilities, cyber space, and AI-powered decision systems. The evolution of space technologies from precision-strike satellites to autonomous ISR capabilities has rearranged the battlespace with information dominance and disruption being more valuable than sheer military might. The war of today is not mass mobilisation but network centric warfare (NCW), where the key to success lies in controlling the intelligence stream, jamming adversary’s communications, and pre empting attacks before the first shot has been fired. This study analyses how these advances have propelled Cross Domain Deterrence (CDD) - a theory of deterrence no longer based on brute power but on multi-domain pre emption, strategic deception, and systemic vulnerability. Based on a mixed-methods approach, integrating doctrinal analysis, strategic stability modelling, and case studies, this study examines how space and cyber technologies raise crisis instability, encourage first-strike tendency, and erode conventional deterrence mechanisms. Findings show that reliance on AI-based command infrastructure, cyber-physical sabotage, and dual-use commercial-military resources renders deterrence less stabilising and more escalatory. Without paradigm change in the governance of space and crisis, deterrence will not keep war away from us - it will determine its inevitability.