With all the recent talk of a private space race and potential human colonization of the moon and planets like Mars, it got me thinking: what would space politics actually look like?
How would astronauts, and later colonists, vote? What type of government would they form? Who would lead them? And most importantly, how would they interact with life here on Earth politically speaking?
Although this is likely to be decades away from reality, these are the questions that need to be asked and answered before the first wave of colonists set off their new celestial home…
Direct Democracy
Whether you love him or hate him, Elon Musk is undoubtedly leading the charge in the private space race. Through his company, SpaceX, Musk aims to put humans on Mars by the end of decade with the express purpose of establishing a colony on Mars.
Like us, Musk has also given a thought as to what the politics of his Martian colony should look like. And he chose direct democracy.
Now, this term is likely unfamiliar to most, as almost every modern country uses a system known as indirect democracy, whereby we elected individuals (MPs, representatives, senators etc.) to make laws on our behalf, often due to their perceived better education or life experience.
This leads to the emergence of a professional class of politicians.
In a direct democracy, however, everyone is a part of the lawmaking process, and everyone is given the opportunity to vote on laws, just as elected politicians do here.
For someone like Musk, this makes perfect sense. If everyone is able to propose, debate, amend, and vote on legislation, it should in theory represent what the majority of actual people want, not just self-serving politicians.
And for a small colony of only a few hundred people at most, this is the most simple way of doing things. Debates can be scheduled when the majority are free, and everyone can fit in a relatively small venue.
Sadly, for larger colonies, say, more than a few thousand, this poses a number of issues, chief among them security and capacity ones, which would be difficult enough to sort here on Earth, let alone another celestial body!
Space Parliament
Space Republic
Intergalactic Federation
As a fan of movie franchises such as Star Wars, I have to admit that this one is by far my favorite.
Assuming that humanity one day colonized dozens of planets, moons and wherever else can sustain life (space stations like the ISS for example) and establish their own local governments, we may see the formation of an intergalactic federation or confederation.
In this case, each world, moon and/or colony would elect their own type of government using one of the other entries I’ve mentioned in this article. Then, each would send a representative to an intergalactic legislature that handles intergalactic issues.
Think a UN-style organization with legislative abilities akin to that of a Parliament or Congress.
Depending on the intricacies of the federation/confederation (most likely a federation), the legislature could be a bicameral (two chamber) or unicameral (one chamber) body with either narrow or broad scope.
Much like legislative bodies here on Earth, the intergalactic federation could also have a Supreme Court-style judiciary to uphold or strike down laws deemed harmful to civilization and an executive.
The executive could take one of the many available titles available to the leaders of countries – chancellor, president, prime minister etc. – or create a new title completely from scratch, or resurrect a title from the past, such as Caesar.
This leader could be independent of the legislature entirely, preside as its president (much like how the US Vice President does in the Senate) or have a fusion of powers as seen in countries like the UK, where the executive is also a member of the legislature.
But then again, an intergalactic federation would be the literal definition of a clean slate, so new concepts of federal-style government not yet tried here on Earth could be tried and amended when and where necessary.
Colonial Government
Whilst I doubt that this form of government is likely to happen, I would be remised if I didn’t mention it.
According to this most likely hypothetical scenario, national space agencies would receive more funding than they presently do so that they may compete with private sector firms like SpaceX in extraterrestrial colonization.
Upon overcoming all the technological and scientific obstacles, such as building the rocket, picking the right place for the colony and the right colonists, these space agencies would then need to send the colonists successfully – something easier said than done.
Following their arrival, these colonists would then have to claim the land for their country, rather than themselves, and go through all the processes of appointing a colonial government.
Though it will undoubtedly depend on the country the colonists come from, a colonial government could be anything, ranging from a colonial governor
Aside from the obvious financial and political issues arising from such a move, it would also pose a legal one, as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty specifically prohibits countries from claiming land on extraterrestrial bodies.
This would seemingly put a dampener on any countries extraterrestrial colonial ambitions, unless they were to withdraw from the treaty – an action that may lead to retaliation by other signatories.