Aaron Bateman

Great discussion about subsea cable security at IISS in Singapore. The office view is pretty great too.

Beautiful view this morning of the Singapore Strait

Empire and satellite tracking collide. This is a commemorative stamp of the U.S. Air Force satellite tracking station on Mahe Island in the Seychelles, a British territory until 1976. The defunct station is pictured on the right.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Cold War-era subsea cable collections at the National Archives of Singapore.

Many thanks to Will James for hosting me at RSIS (Nanyang Technological University) in Singapore to give a talk on U.S. Spacepower and alliance politics from the Cold War to today.

I’m looking forward to giving a talk in Singapore next week on the role of terrestrial space infrastructure in shaping US alliances from the Cold War to today. If you are Singapore based and interested in attending, registration details can be found below:
rsis.edu.sg/event/rsis-s...

Volume 50 Issue 2 | International Security | MIT Press

1) ***Announcement***

The new Fall 2025 issue is online!

Read articles by Marc Trachtenberg, @aaronbateman.bsky.social, @ajmount.bsky.social, Dong Jung Kim, and @mikegoldfien.bsky.social

direct.mit.edu/isec/issue

@mitpress.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social

U.S. Space Power and Alliance Dynamics in the Cold War Abstract. U.S. space power has long been anchored to terrestrial geography. In the Cold War, the United States depended on a global network of facilities to track and communicate with military, intell...

3) “U.S. Space Power and Alliance Dynamics in the Cold War,” by @aaronbateman.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1162/ISEC...

This article is Open Access.

I'm pleased to share my open access article in International Security on the role of allies in U.S. space power.
direct.mit.edu/isec/article...

"Weapons in Space" by @aaronbateman.bsky.social is a must-read for those wanting to understand the origins of arms control in space - it's now open access! 🏃

Many thanks to @mitpress.bsky.social for generously making the digital version of my book, Weapons in Space, open access! It can be accessed here: direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...

Thank you!

Fall 2025 issue preview @intsecurity.bsky.social!

M. Trachtenberg | rules-based international order
@aaronbateman.bsky.social | U.S. space power
@ajmount.bsky.social | conventional deterrence of nuclear use
DJ Kim | clients’ demand evasion
@mikegoldfien.bsky.social | hawks, doves, & rapprochement

Thanks!

I'm thrilled to have an article in the fall volume of International Security on the role of allies in U.S. space power during the Cold War!

The IHPST is hiring! Assistant Professor - Philosophy of Science and/or Technology.

jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

job alert:

My department is now running a search to fill a newly inaugurated endowed chair in the History of Technology. Please consider applying/share widely. I'm not on the committee, but happy to answer questions or connect you with those who are.

Details here: recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09897

Many thanks to RUSI for hosting me in London to talk about space security and the transatlantic alliance from the Cold War to today

A green space with bushes and trees and a helix sculpture next to a beige building.

After a long hiatus, AIP's postdoc position for historians of the physical sciences is back!

3 years, $77,500 per year + benefits. Work in the Washington, DC area, close to Univ of Maryland. Open to US citizens/permanent residents. Apply by Nov. 15! #histsci

workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/defau...

Beautiful approach into Heathrow this morning

At the Elliott School of International Affairs we are searching for a senior scholar (associate or full) of international security who will also be appointed to the Political Science Department. Elliott is a fantastic community. See details below:
www.gwu.jobs/postings/122...

Inventing the Doomsday Machine Tracing the idea of a weapon to automatically destroy the world

Here's a post I've wanted to write up for awhile, tracing the history of the idea of a "Doomsday Machine," from fact to fiction (or maybe it was always, to some degree, fiction): doomsdaymachines.net/p/inventing-...

I'm happy to share that my second book, Wiring an Empire: Information Networks and U.S. Global Power in the Cold War, is under advance contract with MIT Press.

YouTube video by National Reconnaissance Office Space Race Secrets

From the National Reconnaissance Office "Space Race Wasn't Just about the Moon." Good to see the NRO making its history as the single largest source of U.S. intelligence during the Cold War more accessible

www.youtube.com/shorts/m4f0K...

Interesting new article in JSS about Norwegian-US nuclear intelligence sharing

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Evolution of Weapons in Space: A Conversation with Aaron Bateman A conversation with Dr Aaron Bateman, exploring his research on the history of accelerating superpower military competition in space during the late Cold War and thereafter.

On 3 Oct I'll be in London to give a talk at RUSI about the origins/ evolution of space-based missile defense and its implications for space security and the transatlantic alliance. If you happen to be in London and are interested, the registration details are below:
my.rusi.org/events/the-e...

Explaining the Proliferation of Nuclear Delivery Vehicles How and why do nuclear delivery vehicles proliferate? This article identifies a permissive environment in the nonproliferation regime shaped by three drivers for proliferation: First, the multipurp...

🚨 How & why do nuclear delivery vehicles proliferate? My article on the spread of delivery vehicles is out at Security Studies! #OpenAccess

It explains:
- Why the NPT allows nuclear delivery vehicles to spread
- How did India acquire its #nuclear delivery technology
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

From a 1978 NDAA authorization hearing, the U.S. Worldwide Military Command and Control System

Many thanks!

I hope you enjoy it!