Staff profile

Dr Bleddyn Bowen is Associate Professor of Astropolitics and a Co-Director of the Space Research Centre (SPARC) at Durham University. He is also housed at the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA). He is an expert in astropolitics and the military uses of outer space. He is the author of two monographs: Original Sin: Power, Technology, and War in Outer Space (Hurst, 2022) and War in Space: Strategy, Spacepower, Geopolitics (Edinburgh University Press, 2020); and multiple peer-reviewed articles (list below).

Dr Bowen's research focuses on spacepower and strategic theory; space policy and politics; military space history and contemporary defence strategy in space; technology and modern warfare; international relations, security, and intelligence. He is recognised by bestselling author and journalist Tim Marshall as "Britain's leading thinker on astropolitics" and "a leading expert on the politics of space" in the pages of Politique étrangère. He maintains a research interest in broader subjects and themes, including technology and modern warfare, in particular nuclear weapons, missile proliferation, and artificial intellgence/automation in warfare.

Dr Bowen has advised, presented, and briefed for many government agencies and offices, including the UK Prime Minister’s Policy Unit, the US National Space Council, the US Space Force, the European Space Agency, UK Ministry of Defence, UK Space Agency, the UK Parliament, and the Japanese Cabinet Office. He is also frequently interviewed for news and media organisations to provide analysis and commentary on space policy and international security.

Prior to joining Durham University, Dr Bowen taught and researched at the University of Leicester, King’s College London, and Aberystwyth University. Dr Bowen also has prior experience in Professional Military Education at the Joint Services Command and Staff College at the UK Defence Academy.

Dr Bowen studied for his Bachelor's degree in International Relations at Aberystwyth University's International Politics Department, followed by a Master's in Strategic Studies and a second Master's in Security Studies, both at Aberystwyth University. He secured ESRC funding for his PhD at Aberystwyth University, which was titled "Spacepower and Space Warfare: The Continuation of Terran Politics by Other Means" and was awarded in early 2016.

In addition to his academic roles, Dr Bowen holds/has held the following roles:

Founder and Co-Convenor, Astropolitics Working Group, British International Studies Association

Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute

Editorial Board Member, RAF Air and Space Power Review

Project Associate, Third Nuclear Age Project, University of Leicester

Paris Defence Young Leaders 2024, IRSEM, Ecole Militaire, France

Bertelsmann Foundation Fellow, 2025

Media and Public Speaking

Dr Bowen has extensive experience as a public speaker and contributor to news items as a subject matter expert, and is open to media queries for comments on news items. He can comment as an academic expert on the fields below in Welsh and English:

• Space policy and security
• Military and intelligence space activities
• International relations, geopolitics, and history in space
• UK defence/security, particularly with regard to modern warfare and space technologies

Dr Bowen has previously featured in these select outlets:

• BBC Radio 4's Today Programme
• BBC Radio 4's The Patch
• BBC Radio 5 Live
• BBC Radio Cymru
• BBC Radio Wales
• Newyddion S4C
• Sky News
• British Forces TV/Radio
• Le Monde
• The Times
• The Financial Times
• The Economist
• The Washington Post
• Space News

Dr Bowen has been active in public speaking for many years, with highlights including:

• Plenary Address to the UK National Astronomy Meeting 2025
• National Space Centre Space Lates, Leicester, 2025
• Guest lecture to the Gwynedd Scientific Society, 2025
• Expert Panellist at the Assemble events series, Chester Cathedral, 2025
• Keynote lecture to the RAF Museum Conference, 2024
• Guest lecture for the African Space Leadership Institute, 2024
• Expert Panellist at the Japanese Cabinet Office 9th National Space Policy Secretariat Symposium, 2024
• Guest lecture to the Joint Services Command and Staff College, 2024
• Expert Panellist at the Future Space Threats Conference, Wilton Park, 2023
• Guest lecture to the Australian War College, 2023
• Speaker at the Oxford Literary Festival, 2023
• Expert Panellist at the UN's Open-Ended Working Group on Space Threats, 2022
• Guest lecture to the UK Ministry of Defence Chief Scientific Adviser's Lecture Series, 2021
• Guest lecture to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, 2021
• Guest lecture to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 2019
• Addressing the NATO Engages Summit, London 2019
• Guest lecture to the Nene Valley Astronomical Society, 2018

• Astropolitics
• Space Warfare
• Space Security
• Space Policy
• Technology and War
• Strategic Theory

Authored book

• Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space
  
  Bowen, B. E. (2023). Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197677315.001.0001
• War in Space: Strategy, Spacepower, Geopolitics
  
  Bowen, B. E. (2020). War in Space: Strategy, Spacepower, Geopolitics. Edinburgh University Press. https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9781474450485.001.0001

Chapter in book

• The UK in the Global Space Age
  
  Bowen, B. (in press). The UK in the Global Space Age. In National Security Space Policies in the Changing Environment. National Institute for Defense Studies.

Journal Article

• We’ll never have a model of an AI major-general: Artificial Intelligence, command decisions, and kitsch visions of war
  
  Hunter, C., & Bowen, B. E. (2024). We’ll never have a model of an AI major-general: Artificial Intelligence, command decisions, and kitsch visions of war. Journal of Strategic Studies, 47(1), 116-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2023.2241648
• A Perfect Storm?: Coronavirus, Brexit, the Integrated Review, Scottish Separatism and the Future of Trident
  
  Futter, A., & Bowen, B. E. (2020). A Perfect Storm?: Coronavirus, Brexit, the Integrated Review, Scottish Separatism and the Future of Trident. The RUSI Journal, 165(5-6), 92-99. https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2020.1830431
• From the sea to outer space: The command of space as the foundation of spacepower theory
  
  Bowen, B. E. (2019). From the sea to outer space: The command of space as the foundation of spacepower theory. Journal of Strategic Studies, 42(3-4), 532-556. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2017.1293531
• The RAF and Space Doctrine: A Second Century and a Second Space Age
  
  Bowen, B. E. (2018). The RAF and Space Doctrine: A Second Century and a Second Space Age. The RUSI Journal, 163(3), 58-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2018.1494349
• British strategy and outer space: A missing link?
  
  Bowen, B. E. (2018). British strategy and outer space: A missing link? The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 20(2), 323-340. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148118758238
• Cascading Crises: Orbital Debris and the Widening of Space Security
  
  Bowen, B. E. (2014). Cascading Crises: Orbital Debris and the Widening of Space Security. Astropolitics, 12(1), 46-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2014.890489

Other (Print)

• Donald Trump’s approach to US space policy could throw up some surprises, especially with Elon Musk on board
  
  Bowen, B., & Blount, P. (2024). Donald Trump’s approach to US space policy could throw up some surprises, especially with Elon Musk on board. The Conversation. The Conversation.

Report

• Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC)
  
  Bowen, B., & Osborn, J. (2025). Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC). Durham University Space Research Centre. https://doi.org/10.62512/pubs.sparc.0001