My final paper written for POLI 369B International Security: The Governance of Outer Space, exploring the rise of outer space industrialization and its implications for international relations and international law using Elon Musk's SpaceX as a case study. In writing the paper, I entered my research and analysis around this guiding question: What challenges do Elon Musk and SpaceX pose to the traditional state-centric system of international relations and international law? Is a multilateral response required, and if so, what should it involve?
In this paper I explored two primary issues around SpaceX activities:
- Space Debris & Pollution
- Space Colonization, Territory, and International Law
I closed with a critical commentary on gaps in current international outer space law and regulation.
Through this paper I gained a thorough grounding in the basics of international law. I was then able to apply the legal theory I had learned to the case of outer space, which is a particularly interesting one since it is a relatively under-developed area of international law. Attempting to regulate something as complex and unknown as space is an interesting exercise in legal development for myself since I am passionate about technology policy. Attempting to regulate space and technology are both intriguing for me since they are both areas still very much in development, provoking the need for creative and adaptable analyses as the boundaries of traditional international law, territoriality, and state sovereignty are pushed to their limits.