the need to develop political technology for space colonization

Paper number

IAC-08.A5.1.6

Author

Mrs. Sylvia Corona Palacios, Centre for Research in Social Simulation, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

Year

2008

Abstract

One of the important areas where research for space exploration can make a substantive contribution to the daily current affairs of the planet, is in the development of political technologies able to define the conditions, elements and boundaries of the political systems. In fact, the insufficient development of such technologies renders us currently incapable neither to make corrections nor to implement basic activities of maintenance into the political systems’ structure, as the  chequered results of humanitarian interventions of the international community have demonstrated. Therefore, the need to develop a technology that will allow the decision-making process in Politics to rely not only in ideological considerations, but the scientific analysis of the political systems’ conditions.

This paper attempts to raise awareness among the space research community about the need to consider the political nature of the challenges ahead of any colonization project. Thus, to the technological, financial and socio-bio-psychological considerations, it is imperative to add the political dimension that -beyond party-politics and related to the Aristotelian characterisation of man as a political being- will necessarily arise as the colony progressively develops into less military forms of organisation. The resultant debate will collaborate to develop an area of research in space exploration of great applicability to daily affairs of contemporary global politics.

This research is part of an innovative and interdisciplinary doctoral thesis project supported by the University of Surrey (Sociology and the Politics Department), where the author is currently based. The aim of the project is to model classical political theories and generate computer simulations with the technology of the NetLogo programme for Agent-Based Models. When completed, the Doctoral Thesis is expected to confirm the modern relevance of operationalised classical political theory as an analytical tool for practical policy-making.

Abstract document

IAC-08.A5.1.6.pdf

Manuscript document

(absent)