NASA via Flickr
A New Realm of Strategic Competition
Germany’s Space Strategy and Its Transatlantic Implications
Panelists:
Antje Nötzold, Senior Researcher, Support for Arms Control in Space, University of the Bundeswehr Munich; Private Lecturer, Department of International Relations, University of Technology Chemnitz
Andrea Rotter, Head of the Foreign and Security Policy Division, Deputy Director of the Academy for Politics and Current Affairs, Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSS)
Moderator:
Jeff Rathke, President and Director of the Foreign & Security Policy Program, AGI
Space is essential for civilian and commercial activity, and—especially since Russia’s aggression in Ukraine—actors have recognized its importance for national security. Europe has sought to close the gap in its space capabilities compared to leaders like the United States, Russia, and China, and Germany has positioned itself as a leader in this effort. In 2025, Germany announced a 35-billion-euro investment in space security architecture, increased its contributions to the European Space Agency by 44 percent, and released the National Space Safety and Security Strategy. The United States has put forward an “America First in Space” agenda and a U.S. National Security Strategy that demands Europe to develop its own security capabilities, heightening the urgency for European space sovereignty.
This webinar will explore the changing geopolitical role of space and the implications for European security and defense. It will assess the changing dynamics of transatlantic space cooperation and analyze how decision-makers seek to position Germany as a central driver of Europe’s future space capabilities as European leaders seek to bolster their security beyond the transatlantic framework.
Dr. Antje Nötzold is a Senior Researcher in the Project “Support for Arms Control in Space (SACS)” at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich and a Private Lecturer at the Department of Internation-al Relations at Chemnitz University of Technology. She is also a Non-Resident Fellow at AGI, an Associate Fellow at CASSIS (Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies) at the University Bonn, a member of the SichTRaum (Security and Technology in Space) research network and Vice President of the Germany-wide Gesellschaft für Sicherheitspolitik (Society for Security Policy).
After studying political science and business administration in Chemnitz and Sydney, Nötzold completed her PhD with a thesis on European and Chinese energy policy and the implications for European energy security. Her habilitation thesis was dedicated to “The Decision to Denuclearize. A Process Analysis of Nuclear Disarmament in South Africa and Implications for Non-Proliferation Research and Policy”. The anthology “Strategischer Wettbewerb im Weltraum”, published 2024, is the first comprehensive summary of strategic developments, trends and challenges in space for the German-speaking world since the end of the Cold War. In addition to scientific articles in various journals and anthologies, has also published concise formats like policy papers with political recommendations.
Her research interests include astropolitics, strategic competition, rivalry, conflicts, security and warfare in space, space governance; geopolitical rivalries and systemic conflict between the United States and China; energy policy and security of supply, the nexus of energy, climate and geopolitics; and nuclear non-proliferation. Her expertise and many years of experience in science communication and political education make Dr. Nötzold a nationally and internationally sought-after speaker and interview partner for newspapers and television.
Andrea Rotter heads the Foreign and Security Policy Division at the Academy for Politics and Current Affairs of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in Munich, Germany. Her research focuses on transatlantic security cooperation as well as German and European security and defense policy. Her current research projects address the evolution of Germany’s strategic culture, the transformation of NATO in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the link between geopolitical rivalry and space security policy. She is a non-resident fellow at AGI.
Prior to joining HSF, she was a researcher in the Americas Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and taught at the Chair of International Politics and Transatlantic Relations at the University of Regensburg. In 2018, she was a visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the American-German Institute (AGI) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC. From 2018-2022, she was a member of the Young Leaders Program of the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS), Berlin, and is an alumna of the International Visiting Leadership Program (U.S. Department of State) and the Manfred Wörner Seminar (GMF & German Federal Ministry of Defense). She is also a member of the extended board of WIIS (Women in International Security) Germany and heads the regional chapter in Munich.
Rotter holds a master’s degree in European-American Studies from the University of Regensburg and a bachelor’s degree in International Cultural and Business Studies from the University of Passau and Stirling, UK.
This event will convene via Zoom. Please contact AGI Program Associate Mr. Jack Fornasiero at jfornasiero@aicgs.org with any questions.
