Space for Actorness and Power: The Discursive Construction of the European Union as a Space Actor and its Approach to Global Outer Space Governance
(2024) STVM23 20241Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- Space activity is rapidly developing, increasing globally in public and private sectors, and subject to competition amongst dominant spacefaring actors. Global space governance is discordant with the contemporary environment motivating international efforts to develop it. Since 2021 the European Union (EU) is intensively developing space policy and strategies. This dissertation contributes to studies on the construction and positioning of the EU as a global actor in relation to outer space. It examines how the internal discursive construction of the EU as a space actor and power-considerations shape its approach to global space governance using a social constructivist approach with critical discourse analysis of official internal documents... (More)
- Space activity is rapidly developing, increasing globally in public and private sectors, and subject to competition amongst dominant spacefaring actors. Global space governance is discordant with the contemporary environment motivating international efforts to develop it. Since 2021 the European Union (EU) is intensively developing space policy and strategies. This dissertation contributes to studies on the construction and positioning of the EU as a global actor in relation to outer space. It examines how the internal discursive construction of the EU as a space actor and power-considerations shape its approach to global space governance using a social constructivist approach with critical discourse analysis of official internal documents in a longitudinal case study from 2009-2023. Space promotes actorness and power for the EU as global actorness and internal objectives are understood as mutually reinforcing. The dissertation demonstrates how through perception of the domain as congested and competitive capability expansion is linked to security and global context which shapes the EU’s approach to global space governance and sustains dynamics of power projection and competition in the domain, revealing geopolitical notions. Nonetheless, findings indicate that by virtue of presence global organising principles may be shaped to facilitate international cooperation in space. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9152448
- author
- Carl, Monika LU
- supervisor
-
- Ian Manners LU
- organization
- course
- STVM23 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- European Union, Outer Space, Actorness, Power, Global Governance
- language
- English
- id
- 9152448
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-18 13:55:38
- date last changed
- 2024-07-18 13:55:38
@misc{9152448, abstract = {{Space activity is rapidly developing, increasing globally in public and private sectors, and subject to competition amongst dominant spacefaring actors. Global space governance is discordant with the contemporary environment motivating international efforts to develop it. Since 2021 the European Union (EU) is intensively developing space policy and strategies. This dissertation contributes to studies on the construction and positioning of the EU as a global actor in relation to outer space. It examines how the internal discursive construction of the EU as a space actor and power-considerations shape its approach to global space governance using a social constructivist approach with critical discourse analysis of official internal documents in a longitudinal case study from 2009-2023. Space promotes actorness and power for the EU as global actorness and internal objectives are understood as mutually reinforcing. The dissertation demonstrates how through perception of the domain as congested and competitive capability expansion is linked to security and global context which shapes the EU’s approach to global space governance and sustains dynamics of power projection and competition in the domain, revealing geopolitical notions. Nonetheless, findings indicate that by virtue of presence global organising principles may be shaped to facilitate international cooperation in space.}}, author = {{Carl, Monika}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Space for Actorness and Power: The Discursive Construction of the European Union as a Space Actor and its Approach to Global Outer Space Governance}}, year = {{2024}}, }