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Daniel Deudney

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Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity

by Daniel Deudney (Author)

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Space is again in the headlines. E-billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are planning to colonize Mars. President Trump wants a "Space Force" to achieve "space dominance" with expensive high-tech weapons. The space and nuclear arms control regimes are threadbare and disintegrating.

Would-be asteroid collision diverters, space solar energy collectors, asteroid miners, and space geo-engineers insistently promote their Earth-changing mega-projects. Given our many looming planetary catastrophes (from extreme climate change to runaway artificial superintelligence), looking beyond the earth for solutions might seem like a sound strategy for humanity. And indeed, bolstered by a global network of fervent space advocates-and seemingly rendered plausible, even inevitable, by oceans of science fiction and the wizardly of modern cinema-space beckons as a fully hopeful path for human survival and flourishing, a positive future in increasingly dark times.

But despite even basic questions of feasibility, will these many space ventures really have desirable effects, as their advocates insist? In the first book to critically assess the major consequences of space activities from their origins in the 1940s to the present and beyond, Daniel Deudney argues in Dark Skies that the major result of the "Space Age" has been to increase the likelihood of global nuclear war, a fact conveniently obscured by the failure of recognize that nuclear-armed ballistic missiles are inherently space weapons. The most important practical finding of Space Age science, also rarely emphasized, is the discovery that we live on Oasis Earth, tiny and fragile, and teeming with astounding life, but surrounded by an utterly desolate and inhospitable wilderness stretching at least many trillions of miles in all directions. As he stresses, our focus must be on Earth and nowhere else. Looking to the future, Deudney provides compelling reasons why space colonization will produce new threats to human survival and not alleviate the existing ones. That is why, he argues, we should fully relinquish the quest. Mind-bending and profound, Dark Skies challenges virtually all received wisdom about the final frontier.

ISBN-10

0190903341
ISBN-13

978-0190903343
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

March 2, 2020
Language

English
Dimensions

9.4 x 1.6 x 6.4 inches
Print length

464 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is highly recommended to students of global security, international relations, and geopolitics." -- Didem Buhari Gulmez, Izmir Katip Celebi University, New Global Studies

"Remarkable, mesmerizing book" -- Stewart M. Patrick

"Deudney's research is highly original, empirically rich and driven by (geopolitical) theory.... It finally provides a theoretically-informed account of the possible effects of space expansionism on the security threats facing the Earth and humanity, the nature of the international system and of domestic regimes, and the future of individual and collective freedoms.... The book is highly recommended to students of global security, international relations, and geopolitics." -- New Global Studies

"It is a big book and Deudney covers a great deal of ground, some of it rather difficult, but he does so with lucid and even frequently engaging prose. His criticisms of the arguments of various schools of space advocacy are fair-minded, and they go deep. They shook many of my long-held convictions about the desirability of an ever-expanding human presence in space....excellent." -- The New Atlantis

"[A] sustained argument against the militarisation of space and indeed the Promethean excitements of space itself. ... Deudney dismantles the idea that space exploration will lead to a transcendence of the Earth's natural constraints: more likely, he thinks, is total surveillance and an increased risk of 'planetary scope technological catastrophe.'" -- London Review of Books

"Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity [is] a learned, massively documented screed expressing what I think will probably soon become the prevailing view in academic circles" -- John Wilson, Englewood Review of Books, The Lamp

"Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity is a painstakingly researched, historically informed and theoretically sophisticated analysis centered on the disarmingly simple question: Is space colonization desirable?" -- Byron Williston, Boston Review

"Deudney forensically examines the techno-political worldviews on which various kinds of space expansionism rest. He then systematically takes the arguments apart, showing the dreams of space expansionism to be science fiction, military adventurism, and the vanity projects of billionaires. After his tour de force, we are led back to where we began, here on Earth. An essential book that has been a long time coming." -- Clive Hamilton, Professor of Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University in Canberra, and author of Defiant Earth

"I am a dyed-in-the-wool space cadet of long standing, so I am 'the enemy' as far as Deudney is concerned. Yet, this amazingly well-researched and thoughtful book provides a deeply sobering geopolitical reality check for the space expansionists. It is absolutely important that the expansionist program be challenged by the arguments assembled here, and so far there has been no such challenge, or at least nothing nearly so well-informed and bracing as this. Deudney has fired the opening shot in what could one day become the central debate about how humankind charts its future. A landmark achievement from perhaps the most original thinker writing in international relations today." -- Barry Buzan, Emeritus Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics

"Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in a cradle forever,' wrote the rocketry pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1911. 'If humans are indeed in an infant state, then it also stands to reason that many-if not most-of their visions of the future are essentially infantile as well,' writes Deudney today. His closely reasoned, deeply disturbing, and always fascinating treatise warns humanity to resist dreamy temptations to colonize-and most likely militarize-the solar system and to pursue instead 'space for earth." -- Walter A. McDougall, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, and Pulitzer-Prize winning author of the Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age

About the Author

Daniel Deudney is a professor of political science and international relations at Johns Hopkins University. He has written extensively on international theory, political theory and global issues: nuclear, space, environment and energy. His book Bounding Power: Republican Security from the Polis to the Global Village received the 'Book of the Decade' award from the International Studies Association.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (March 2, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0190903341
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0190903343
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.67 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.4 x 1.6 x 6.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,237,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,554 in Political Intelligence
- #3,841 in History (Books)
- #45,128 in Unknown

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Samantha Goldberg

Hard read, but influential

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2022

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Before reading this, I had never conceptualized the different pools of space expansionists, and the attitudes they possess which shape their foreseen consequences of space exploration. This book was a heavier read than I was expecting, but I learned a lot.

Some influential parts of the book for me included the discussion of geopolitics in Chapter 8. I enjoyed reading his predictions of politics in outer space in chapter 10, specifically when he discusses the inevitably of separation from Earth’s political structure. It was these chapters which made me pause and truly consider whether we are ready to expand our frontiers. I also enjoyed reading about the interwovenness between space expansionism and science fiction, and how science fiction has inspired and shaped the technology and expectations of Western civilizations. It was frightening to read that military space expansionists actually do exist on a non-trivial scale, and their goals for dominating the region of Earth in space for so-called national security.

Overall, this was a very insightful read. Deudney clearly stated his aims in writing this book, as a complex overview of the current objectives and attitudes about space and how each of them fall short. I believe his aim to critically analyze and spread awareness about the negative aspects of space expansionism was fulfilled. Furthermore, I really appreciated the chapter “New Heavens, New Earth”. In it, he thoroughly explains the solar system, potential orbits, and phenomena in outer space that pose a threat to civilization and expansion. There were other moments where he expounded on scientific theories to complement the goals of space expansionists, which I felt was helpful in putting these arguments in context. From the history of astronomy and space exploration; to the current state of affairs; to goals of different groups in the far future, this book thoroughly explains this subject.

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Allyn McAuley

A must-read book on technology and society

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2020

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This is an extraordinary book in many ways. With a rare synthetic ability and eloquent style, the author covers not just the fairly wide issue of space expansionism, but the even larger question raised by it: are we Earthlings equipped to deal with the negative impacts of our most advanced technologies (AI, nano, genetic engineering, etc)? Suited for specialists and generalists alike, his wide-ranging survey and critique is a must-read for anyone interested in looking realistically at the logistics, benefits and dangers posed by the dream of inhabiting the "frontier" beyond planet Earth. His conclusion: We need to learn how to reverse, regulate and relinquish some of our cherished advanced technologies and SciFi dreams, and focus on using our scientific skills to care for our home here on Earth.

3 people found this helpful

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rocketguy

Anti-technology propoganda masquerading as scholarship

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2021

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A misleading and intellectually dishonest book. It purports to be a reasoned and researched look at the pros and cons of the militarization and the commercial use of space including industrialization and settlement. It then purports to examine these arguments and find that space is a harmful enterprise.

It does no such thing. It examines the history of the theory and practice of space activities with a very selective eye, ignoring all the writers who examined these issues before (who did not agree with Deudney), so as to claim he is the first to take these issues seriously. He advocates for a world state, but not a government, a web of regulations and arms and technology control, empowered to restrain not only space technology, but all technology he deems "disruptive"

He then acknowledges that arms control arrangements have been examined by other workers and found to to be futile save where they are unnecessary, because states only enforce such things when it is in their mutual interest to do so -- and having acknowledged this , ignores it and lays out his "middle way" -- just enough governance to stop all the risks, bringing humanity to a state of perfect stasis, with no new changes and no risky technologies.

The thought that this is a far less realistic or grounded proposal than those he critiques goes unexamined, and he simply asserts through repetition that which he wishes to be true, but at great length.

In the last few chapters his agenda is laid bare -- he fears that space settlement and industrialization will succeed, that it will bring on a limitless future and escape the control of bureaucracy and regulation; he fears that in time there will be more humans off Earth than on it and that we should fear the loss of power and influence this will bring to the Earth. The argument proves too much -- the same arguments would have kept humanity confined to Africa, if listened to.

The book is not an 'argument' at all -- it is a polemic, meant to revitalize the flagging influence of the 'internationalist regulators' who have been losing their choke-hold on space for a generation. Heed it not

21 people found this helpful

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Reader Reviewer NJ

don't read this book - only for specialists who can handle turgid prose

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2020

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This book is a very hard slog. There are a significant number of technical errors - for example, Gerard O'Neill is a physicist, not an aeronautical engineer. Many of the key arguments are presented as facts without attribution or citation, and seem more like the author's opinion than anything else. A key idea is that asteroids make excellent weapons, which is untrue, invalidating much of the thesis. Additionally, the author does not deal realistically with the totalitarian regime needed to implement "relinquishment" of space infrastructure, an odd oversight for a political scientist. How, for example, the author plans to prevent Musk and Bezos from moving to China to implement their vision of humanity settling space is unclear. Fortunately, this book is too poorly written and based on too many weak arguments to cause much harm.

17 people found this helpful

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Alex

Worth buying but you must tough it through a tedious read

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2021

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A good review on many concepts, but tediously written with entire chapters devoted to chaff like the history of astronomy. A more concise book that directly addresses the authors hypotheses and which covers the latest on some of the technical aspects would of been a much better read.

3 people found this helpful

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Demetrios

Provocative, original, must-read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2024

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Prof Deudney is one of the most original thinkers of his generation and this book shows why. It is provocative, original, intellectually stimulating, and a must-read for anyone interested in space security and space policy.

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