Syllabus
The basis of the course lies in lectures accompanied by a seminar based on students´ required readings that will be uploaded into the Moodle system. The final two lectures will present students´ own research that should enhance their understanding of the domain´s many characteristics.
1) Introduction Course introduction, terminology
2) History History of space travel and space international relations
3) Physical context Physical limits to launch and movement, role of gravity, orbital movement, environmental impacts
4) Theoretical perspectives From geopolitics to astropolitics, applicability of terrestrial theories in outer space
5) Outer space, economy, society Space economy, developmental role of space services
6) Dual-use technologies, orbital debris Dual-use nature of technologies, case of orbital debris mitigation and RPOs
7) War, security, space Role of space in war, space applications and terrestrial security
8) Motivations and capacities of space actors Actors, motivations, capacities
9) Celestial bodies – Moon Geography of the Moon, importance, future scenarios
10) Celestial bodies – Mars, asteroids, other smaller objects Geography of Mars and smaller bodies, importance, future scenarios
11) Student presentations
12) Student presentations
Annotation
Course deals with the geopolitics of the outer space and its relevance for the understanding of the world´s politics. Students taking this course will obtain basic knowledge about the relation of power and space in the outer space domain and the basic factors affecting political decisions in the outer space.
Furthermore, it will be demonstrated how the outer space activities affect the terrestrial society and the global politics. Aim of the course is to enable its students to understand basic geopolitical realities of the final frontier and to be able to analyze political decisions related to the domain.