Toward a Prospective Typology of Astrocide

Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic

Description

Space expansionism embodied by space mining companies and planned space colonization dominate the space agenda. It is an inherently exploitative agenda that could have totally annihilative consequences in the future. Criminology, particularly space criminology, has only begun to analyze these developments critically. Resembling how European colonial expansionism was once driven by unbridled capitalism, leading to genocide and later, ecocide, space expansionism could result in astrocide. Yet, any future-oriented (theoretical) understanding of astrocide, defined as the destructive exploitation and total annihilation of celestial bodies and any potential extraterrestrial life, remains missing. Therefore, by learning from current definitions of astrocide and drawing from genocide studies, a prospective typology of astrocide is introduced, adapting Vahakn N. Dadrian’s genocide framework (1975) to outer space. Four forms of astrocide are proposed: latent astrocide (interplanetary contamination and planetary defense), utilitarian astrocide (astral exploitation of extraterra nullius), optimal astrocide (terraformation), and biocultural astrocide (transhumanism).
Period2 Apr 2025
Held atUniversity of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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