Description
This paper unravels how outer space imaginaries influence the practice and decisions regarding outer space governance, in particular the privatization-securitization process.
In an increasingly tense geopolitical context, outer space is becoming a crucial site for defence and security. Indeed, in a volatile military context, outer space is of strategic importance in terms of intelligence, multi-domain awareness, communication, deterrence, and more. At the same time, the past two decades have seen an unprecedented wave of private endeavours in space, from Virgin Galactic’s tourist suborbital flights to SpaceX’s contribution to established governmental programmes. These corporations have brought civilians and civilian interests into space (e.g. space tourism, transit of civilian scientists and technologies, critical satellite communication, planning for the exploitation of space’s resources). In doing so, they have started to challenge the monopoly of states as outer space actors.
Decisions have to be made regarding outer space governance, sovereignty rights, property rights, as well as the role, rights and responsibilities of non-state actors. In particular, decisions are expected in the field of outer space security governance that is impacted by the increasing power of private actors.
This paper postulates that such decisions are constrained by dominant narratives and competing discourses that represent and construct outer space. Thus, by adopting a critical geopolitics approach, it identifies four discourses underpinned by material and ideational factors and concludes on a practice of governance centred around a “privatization-securitization nexus” (This expression is ours: the paper will define what we mean by this).
