Tegan Harrison
(she/her)

BSc, MA

PhD Candidate

Tegan Watt Harrison is a full-time PhD research student in the School of Law and Politics, focusing on the United Nations' Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) agenda (1981-2023). Her thesis examines how this agenda addresses, negotiates, and constrains space warfare. Through her research, Tegan aims to critically reconstruct the formal processes that shape international diplomacy on space security, revealing the assumptions behind current practices.

In addition to her thesis work, her research interests include verifying on-orbit threats and applying Space Situational Awareness (SSA) to tackle these challenges. She also teaches across modules in Politics and International Relations and is currently a Fellowship Candidate.

As a co-convener of the Astropolitics EISA ECR Workshop 2024, Tegan is committed to fostering discussions and collaborations among PhD and Early Career Researchers in the field. Additionally, she serves on the committee of the Defence Research Network (DRN) as the Newsletter Editor, where she contributes to promoting research and facilitating communication among members.

PhD thesis: Assemblages of Space War in the United Nations Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) agenda, 1981-2023.

Focusing on PAROS as a formation of power, the study examines how space warfare is addressed, negotiated, and constrained by international organizations, nation-states, and non-state actors. Through the pragmatic application of performative assemblages, the thesis analyses how legal, technological, normative, and strategic orderings shape the narratives on space warfare within PAROS.

The research is grounded in an interpretive documentary analysis of PAROS official documents and focuses on three key thematic areas: (1) space-strike in ballistic encounters and the nuclearized security space; (2) value and vulnerability in issues of targeting and thresholds of aggression; (3) sustainable security and the limits of destruction. Each chapter critically reconstructs the formal processes of selection and dependency that underpin international diplomacy on space security. The analysis reveals how specific security issues, including military interactions and technologies, are selectively ordered and socio-technically constituted within the broader assemblage of space governance.

The thesis contributes to critical astropolitics, offering insights into the evolving challenges of space warfare and security governance.

Her other research interests include verification challenges in PAROS, the history of verification proposals, and the use of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) for verifying on-orbit activities.

PGR tutor at Cardiff University:

International Politics in the Nuclear Age - third-year module.
International Relations of the Cold War - second-year module
International Security: Concepts and Issues - second-year module
Introduction to Globalisation - first-year module
Introduction to International Relations - first-year module

Fellowship candidate - TBC September 2025.

Co-convenor Astropolitics EISA ECR Workshop 2024.

Academic Background:

MA Security (2020-2021) Loughborough University.

BSc Sociology (2017-2020) Loughborough University.

Professional memberships

British International Studies Association (BISA)

European International Studies Association (EISA)

Academic positions

PGR Tutor, Politics and International Relations, Cardiff University (2022-present).

Committees and reviewing

Defence Research Network - committee member, 'newletter editor'.

Contact Details

HarrisonT8@cardiff.ac.uk

Research themes

Specialisms

Astropolitics
Political geography
Security

Tegan Harrison (she/her) BSc, MA

Overview

Research

Teaching

Biography