Description
While "spacepower" is often considered in IR the domain of strategists contemplating how to best use material forms of power, it is undeniable that narrative constructions or imaginaries have been consistently deployed to explain and shape perceptions of outer space. Tropes such as “the ultimate high ground,”, "the second Space Age", “space as a sanctuary,” and “congested, contested, and competitive,” among others, serve to construct value frames that construct notions of power within the strategy, policy, and governance of space. These narratives are used throughout professional and academic space communities to construct understandings of the nature of the space environment. This panel explores how these tropes are used and whether or not they have a meaningful or desirable impact on understanding and planning human activities in space, and what alternatives may be explored.
