A Criminological Imagination of Astrocide

Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic

Description

Space expansionism has intensified global competition, with the U.S. leading large-scale, state-corporate-driven initiatives, assisted by space mining companies such as AstroForge and Lunar Resources that technologically dominate space-resource extraction, particularly in lunar Helium-3 mining and asteroid resource exploitation. As problematic are billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos who determine the space agenda and push for Mars colonization and orbital habitats. These space “broligarchs,” however, ignore the Outer Space Treaty’s emphasis on free space exploration and use by all states “without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, with free access to all areas of celestial bodies” (1967). Their ambitions—and intentions—could very well be astrocidal in their long-term effects.
Criminology, particularly space criminology, has begun to critically analyze these developments. However, what remains lacking is a prospective criminological imagination of what Deudney has referred to as astrocide—the deliberate destruction or transformation of celestial bodies—which will be presented and explored in this talk.
Emerging as a pressing theoretical concern and drawing from established genocide studies, this contribution introduces a prospective typology of astrocide, adapting Vahakn Dadrian’s genocide framework (1975) to outer space. Five forms of astrocide are proposed: latent astrocide (interplanetary contamination), deterrent astrocide (planetary/planetist defense), utilitarian astrocide (astral exploitation of extraterra nullius), optimal astrocide (terraforming), and biocultural astrocide (transhumanism).
Period17 Apr 2025
Event titleInternational Conference on Culture, Crime, and Global Challenges
Event typeConference
LocationUtrecht, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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