Description
The nation state is the core actor in studies of International Relations and security. Some hoped that globalisation would dent its primacy, but a resurge in populist politics and politicians in the 2000s and 2010s meant that territorially tied national statehood has increased, rather than decreased in importance.
In outerspace we have no state lines. No state can claim sovereign right to celestial bodies, and the parameters set to designate ‘airspace’, do not apply to outerspace. Moreover, the prevalence of commercial actors in space reduces the role of the nation state in space further.
Nonetheless, as we see the International Space Station reach the end of its natural life in orbit, we must again address the means by which nations and states seek representation in space. Using primary documentation, this paper will discuss state lines on board the international space station and its use as a tool of USA soft power. China already has Taikonauts onboard its Tiangong space station, and as other states seek to join the low earth orbit party, this paper asks, what will be the impact on geopolitics?
