To look upon the cosmos is to gaze upon the ultimate gestalt. For some, space is the limitless horizon for human progress – it is our eventual destination. Others may see it as the realm of science fiction and fancy; a place where the imagination runs wild. And yet for many others it is merely a dark void – a vacuum full of stars. However, throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, space has emerged as one of the most important policy areas in contemporary governance.

From communications and climate science to the recent controversies surrounding the Trump administration’s campaign promise to build colonies on other planets, space presents a dynamic area of policy and international cooperation – and one that is generally pretty misunderstood.

Is space the final frontier, politically-speaking? To answer this question and many more as it relates to the politics of space, we are joined this week by Kiernan McClelland. Kiernan is a PhD candidate with the Department of Political Science here at Carleton University specializing in the strategic application of space power in Canada and the politics of planetary defence.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Kiernan’s work, make sure to follow him on Twitter @canuckonaut. “War and Peace in Outer Space” is available for pre-order through Amazon and Oxford University Press.

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Lights by Sappheiros @sappheirosmusic Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/LightsSappheiros Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/-lbbHQbZNKg –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 🎵 Track Info: Title: Lights by Sappheiros Genre and Mood: Dance & Electronic + Inspirational ——— 🎧 Available on: Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/4KnoJn... iTunes: music.apple.com/us/album/ligh... Deezer: deezer.com/us/album/88114572 YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=xq3_uCEtiJI SoundCloud: @sappheirosmusi... ——— 😊 Contact the Artist: zachremick1@gmail.com sappheiros.bandcamp.com deezer.com/us/artist/13811001 @sappheirosmusic music.apple.com/us/artist/sap... youtube.com/channel/UCxLKyBhC... open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHX... paypal.com/paypalme2/sappheiros instagram.com/sappheirosmusic facebook.com/SappheirosMusic discordapp.com/invite/Pk87yN9 twitter.com/SappheirosMusic patreon.com/sappheiros