Critical Geopolitics of Outer Space

Abstract

The 2019 US Congressional decision to create a "Space Force" as the sixth branch of the US military (Zengerle 2019) should prompt some inquiry into what sort of geopolitics are at work in and through outer space. This was followed, in the depths of the COVID-19 Pandemic and National State of Emergency, by the April 6, 2020 Executive Order to promote private sector mining of the Moon and other planets. Popular fictions aside, these decisions were not inevitable, nor did they result from a legal vacuum. Outer space is governed by the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial bodies (also known as the OST), which was signed by 132 countries including the United States, Russia, and China. With this treaty, the international community did something remarkable. In the depths of the Cold War, the OST constituted an agreement to treat outer space in a fundamentally different manner than nearly all other global commons in the last 500 years. Having long foreseen the dangers of remaking outer space into the next frontier for colonization, resource extraction, and militarization, the OST designated outer space as our "common heritage" and permits only "peaceful use" in the "province of all [hu]mankind" (UN 1967).The OST prohibits claims of sovereignty "by means of use or appropriation or by any other means." This treaty makes space open to all for peaceful exploration and discovery -always. This means that you cannot plant a flag on a celestial body to call it your own, regardless of what contemporary would-be colonizers might think. Contrary to the language of the 2015 SPACE (Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship) Act signed into law by former US President Obama, you cannot claim "finders keepers" and then set up a mine that pulverizes other worlds into commodities to be sold to the highest bidder, even if you are a US citizen. It most certainly means that you cannot turn your space station or lunar base into a military garrison and then threaten to rain down death and destruction on your fellow humans. In fact, weapons and the use of force are forbidden in outer space, so it is unclear what 2019 US Congressional decision to allocate funding to create the Space Force CONTACT

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“…Particularly encouraging humanists who want cyberspace to be designated as a "common heritage" area. The area must be free of sovereignty claims, and any geopolitical influence and activities conducted there must be based on peace and prosperity for humanity (Klinger, 2020). Nevertheless, cyberspace governance to maintain the country's, region's, and global geopolitical integrity cannot be ruled out.…”

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“…isključivo kao fizički domen. Uostalom, kritike Mekdonalda, Haverkrofta i Duvala, kao i pregled kritičke astropolitičke misli Džuli Mišel Klinger (Julie Michelle Klinger) ukazuju da se svemir kao geografski domen može posmatrati ne samo fizičkogeografski, već i društveno-geografski (Klinger 2021a).…”