Secure World Foundation has published a new Insight column, “From Silos to Strategy: Advancing Dialogue Across Nuclear Policy, Space Security, and Commercial Space,” by Kathleen Brett and Victoria Samson.
The piece examines the first dialogue in SWF’s two-year Dialogue Series, “Strengthening Strategic Stability at the Nexus of Space and Nuclear Security,” held in partnership with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The series brings together experts from nuclear policy, space security, and commercial space to examine how activity in low Earth orbit may affect nuclear risks, escalation dynamics, and global security.
The Insight highlights a central challenge: these communities often work in separate lanes, even as their policy choices, technologies, and risk calculations increasingly overlap. Participants discussed responsible behavior in space, threats to satellites involved in nuclear command and control, lessons from nuclear risk reduction, and the role commercial space actors may play in national security missions.
The column also looks at two cross-cutting themes from the dialogue: international stability and risk escalation management. Participants identified gaps in communication, transparency, data sharing, enforcement, and accountability across sectors. They also discussed practical starting points, including stronger communication channels between governments and operators, transparency requirements, and other mechanisms that could help manage risk during crises.
Read the full Insight to learn more about the discussion and the next steps in the Dialogue Series.