ABSTRACT
If we are to consider the possibility of stopping conflict in space today, it is appropriate to consider what has kept conflict out of space in the past. While first reviewing the literature of arms races in general, Chapter 5 explores past restraints on space-based conflict during the Cold War. It argues that the US and Soviet Union, like states today, considered the costs and benefits of conflict and found the costs to be too high. What is different today is that the economic potential of space is more fully realized and thus serves as additional cost on conflict, thereby increasing the incentives for limiting confrontations. The chapter ends with a discussion of the increased tensions in space today and the potential applicability of Cold War solutions and/or economic based restraints.
