The Case of Luxembourg: A New Role for the Melians?

This chapter focuses on a small-state case, that of Luxembourg. Thirty years since the end of the Cold War, important developments in the European Union (EU) and the international system include radical changes in the security context with new threats, capabilities, “battlefields” and players. Against this intricate backdrop, and constituting the majority of EU member states, where do the European small states stand? Do they continue bandwagoning as security consumers following larger member states, or do they become security contributors? Academic interest has been increasing on both space militarization and small states. The nexus of the two realms remains under-exposed and under-researched. This chapter instead examines the role of small European states in the militarization of space, looking at Luxembourg, as a case study. Despite its size, Luxembourg has been a frontrunner in space development. Its enabling environment includes a regulating framework, as well as vibrant technological, financial, and academic ecosystems. Building on the dual use of space capabilities, Luxembourg has been expanding into space militarization applications. Using a structural realist and constructivist perspective, the chapter posits that Luxembourg has been pursuing space militarization as a window of opportunity for increasing its influence and clout in Europe, as well as in the anarchic structure of the international order.