Description
This paper investigates the dynamics of symbolic power and environmental authority, within the competition between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for regional hegemony in outer space. Against a backdrop of economic transitions to post-oil futures and reconfigured geopolitical alliances, both nations’ space programs serve as potent instruments of statecraft, embodying aspirations for economic leadership and geopolitical influence in West Asia. The competition between the UAE and Saudi Arabia offers critical insight into the mobilisation of space initiatives as a locus of competitive state power in the twenty first century.
