Terminological Ambiguity as a Structural Problem in Space Security

This article presents an analysis of regulatory gaps and conceptual ambiguities in the context of the ongoing militarization of outer space. The author identifies a fundamental asymmetry in the current legal regime, which combines a legally enshrined but unverifiable ban on the deployment of weapos of mass destruction with a lack of regulatory restrictions on the development of non-nuclear anti-satellite systems. Particular attention is paid to the terminological ambiguity of key categories such as “space weapons”, “weapons in space” and “space arms race”, which creates conditions for states to circumvent strict treaty obligations when conducting military space activities. The paper examines initiatives by Russia and China to conclude a comprehensive agreement on the prevention of the deployment of weapons in space, as well as classification approaches to the systematization of space-based weapons. In conclusion, the author concludes that there are existing difficulties in establishing an effective regime to maintain strategic stability in the space domain without reaching a conceptual consensus on key definitions capable of covering the entire spectrum of orbital and ground-based systems of force projection in space.