The International Politics of Space

Description

The year 2007 saw the fiftieth anniversary of the Space Age, which began with the launching of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in October 1957. Space is crucial to the politics of the postmodern world. It has seen competition and cooperation in the past fifty years, and is in danger of becoming a battlefield in the next fifty. The International Politics of Space is the first book to bring these crucial themes together and provide a clear and vital picture of how politically important space has become, and what its exploitation might mean for all our futures.

Michael Sheehan analyzes the space programmes of the United States, Russia, China, India and the European Space Agency, and explains how central space has become to issues of war and peace, international law, justice and international development, and cooperation between the worlds leading states. It highlights the significance of China and India’s commitment to space, and explains how the theories and concepts we use to describe and explain space are fundamental to the possibility of avoiding conflict in space in the future.

Contents

Introduction 1. Perceptions of Space and International Theory 2. Propaganda and National Interest: Scientific Socialism and the Soviet Space Programme, 1957-69 3. The New Frontier: US Space Policy, 1957-72 4. International Cooperation in Space 5. European Integration and Space 6. Space as a Force Multiplier 7. Space Control 8. Space, Justice and International Development 9. India: Security through Space 10. China: The Long March into Space 11. Cooperation and Competition in the Post-Cold War Era

Related Subjects

1. International Security
2. Strategic Studies
3. Air Power
4. Cold War Studies
5. Chinese Politics
6. Russian & Soviet Politics
7. International Politics
8. American Politics