Освоение космического пространства как часть политики формирования имиджа государства

The scientific and technological revolution gave a strong impetus to the development of human civilization, providing people with technologies that continue to improve every day for years to come. Moreover, this technological breakthrough is irreversible – the development of computer technologies is exponential, and the development and implementation of various innovations is rapidly accelerating. Some technological processes will soon become so complex for human understanding that the technological revolution that began decades ago will radically change the face of our civilization. And indeed, the very development of cosmonautics serves as a clear example of this. Today, outer space is no longer something frightening and mysterious, although, of course, humanity is still very far behind in solving the galactic mysteries.
The development of outer space has always been perceived by the leaders of States as another area of competition on the world stage. Successful space activities are still considered as a certain tool for influencing the positions of other actors in the field of international relations. For example, if a state achieves certain significant results in this area, it has the opportunity to develop an appropriate international agenda, and therefore it has the opportunity to directly or indirectly influence other participants in international relations, strengthening its authority, «sharing experience» in exchange for cooperation, strengthening relations in which one of the participants will depend on the other, etc. In addition, there are quite successful political players today who skillfully use the soft power of space diplomacy to spread their influence to other states. Among such countries, the United States stands out, China is no less successful, and the Russian Federation is more backward from its rivals. The success and failure of projects is determined primarily by the extent to which the soft power policy of states is long-term and well-thought-out, whether the government adapts to the changing conditions of foreign policy and whether it is able to conduct a balanced policy, at the same time, constantly maintain the relevance of projects.
Countries managed to discover and explore space only in the middle of the last century. The first country to receive the status of a space power was the Soviet Union. The country received this status after the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in the history of mankind, and a little later the first man in space. The new status acquired by the Soviet Union made it possible to loudly declare itself, in addition, to win the championship from the United States in the space race. The governments of the states realized that the exploration of outer space can become for the countries not only a springboard for military-strategic rivalry, exploration and colonization of
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new territories, but can also become another instrument of influence on other countries. In addition to the tool of influence, the author is sure that the exploration of outer space can be an excellent tool for forming a favorable image of the state. To date, it has already been proven that a country that has the capabilities to develop its own space program and has a corresponding technological development can rightfully be considered a worthy rival and a full-fledged participant in international relations. However, the author should also note that the image of a country can not be formed only from whether the country has the status of a space power or not. To date, there are many different cases, some of which are considered in this paper, which will prove or refute the theory that the exploration of outer space can be a tool for building a positive image of the state. In addition, other cases will be considered, which will prove that the image of the state does not change with the acquisition of the status of a space power, or cases in which countries that have the image of an «unreliable» state will not be able to change their image in the opinion of the world community at all with any manipulation of outer space. Based on the above, the aim of this study is to identify the role of space exploration in the implementation of policy the formation of the image of the state.
In support of the above research aim, the objectives of this research are to answer the following questions:
• To analyze the main historical stages of space exploration and their impact on international relations
• To consider how soft power politics and space exploration interact
• To identify soft power tools in the policies of major space players
• To identify the main changes in the policy of the state, depending on the “acquisition” of
the status of a space power
• To consider the main trends in the formation of the image of the state depending on the
acquisition of the status of a space power
• To consider the development of outer space as an element of soft power in the foreign
policy of the state
Scientific Novelty and Relevance of Research
The scientific novelty and relevance of this study lies in the fact that currently there is very little domestic and foreign literature on the topic of space exploration as part of the policy of forming a favorable image of the state. There is no comprehensive study of the activities of the leading space powers in the world political arena whose goal is to build a positive image of their own state through the implementation of a policy of soft power, in particular the policy of space
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diplomacy. This research paper will help shed light on whether a calculated soft power strategy using space exploration as a political tool and space diplomacy in general can affect the image of the state.
Theoretical Framework and Methodology
The theoretical basis of the study is based primarily on the concept of “soft power” proposed by Joseph S. Nye in his works, which dealt with the concept of soft power in state politics, in addition, in some parts of the work, such concepts as “smart power”are involved. His writings have provided an understanding of soft power and its components to use this concept in analyzing the policies of the leading space players on the world political stage, who use space diplomacy and advances in space exploration as tools of soft power. At the same time, the author is convinced that it is the concept of soft power that underlies the formation of a favorable image of the state, through various tools.
Research methods:
1. Soft – Power concept:
The concept of soft power is one of the fundamental concepts in this research paper. Soft
power is one of the tools for building a favorable image of the state, so with the help of soft power, cooperation with other countries, the dissemination of the culture of a particular country, assistance in space development, etc., the influence on other states is spread with the help of cooperation tools. (For example, China and its policy in the Southeast region aimed at helping “developing” countries to implement space programs. At the same time, China is spreading its influence through soft power tools).
2. Social-media analysis:
In this work, author use this analysis to analyze the relationship between the acquisition of
the status of a space power and the discussion of this event in social and media culture. In addition, the analysis of newspapers and outdated sources is used to form an understanding of how much the image of the state depended on the status of a space power. And how much “popularity” this status can bring.
3. Case-study analysis:
This analysis is aimed at studying a specific event. This work is based on many such events, they are considered both in the historical part of the research work, and in the second part and in the third. That is, in almost every part of the study, the author gave specific examples that help to reveal the topic. We will pay special attention to the third part, in which, using the example of Russia, the United States and China, we consider how the status of a space power affects the
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image of the country. Statistics analysis allows the use of statistical methods and models for statistical analysis of specific data in solving problems, for example, for the purpose of conducting sample surveys. (For example, the author can view how popular a country that has received the status of a space power becomes in social networks. You can track the number of hashtags or mentions of a particular country).
4. Content analysis is a method of qualitative and quantitative analysis of the content of documents in order to identify or measure various facts and trends reflected in these documents. The peculiarity of content analysis is that it examines documents in their social context. Thus, content analysis was used as one of the main research methods. This analysis was chosen because the author considers it necessary to study the history of the problem, to do this, it is necessary to study many sources, analyze information, and select only what is necessary to add to the research work.
5. Limitation method.
This method was used in order not to describe absolutely all countries that have the status of a space power. So, in the course of the work, the author explains why he uses certain countries as examples. That is, I limit the data in my research work. I choose only the necessary countries and after analyzing them, I write about these countries as an example in the third chapter. (For example, I take the Russian Federation since this country became the first space power in the world (the USSR), I trace the evolution of this status and draw conclusions according to the analysis – whether the status of a space power affects the image, and how a country can build a favorable image with this status).
The chronological framework of the dissertation covers the historical period of the beginning of the space age-from the launch of the first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union, to the current state of the space programs of the countries described in the third chapter of the scientific work (1957 – 2020). At the same time, the author should note that does not deepen into all the «minor events» in this historical period, touching on the most popular and important events in the author’s opinion, which will help to prove or refute the problem raised in this study.
Literature Review. The documentary base of the dissertation consists of the following groups of sources:
Primary sources
The first group of sources is the official documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acts, pacts, bilateral and multilateral treaties of the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America concerning various types of space programs, which were
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analyzed by the author and used as the basis of this work.
First, the author would like to mention an extremely important site that has been fully studied
and used during research activities – the site of Roscosmos (Russian Federation)1. This site is important for its content. It contains all the necessary information for the dissertation-the section of international cooperation, federal space programs, launches, spaceports, launch vehicles, the international Space station, orbital groups, etc.
It is also necessary to note the Federal Space Program of Russia for 2016-2025 approved by the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 23, 2016 No. 2302. This document presents a detailed program of the Russian Federation’s participation in outer space. In addition, the Roscosmos website notes the prospects for the implementation of this program, the approaches of the Russian Federation in space, the resources and potential of the Russian Federation.
Further, the author would like to note the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and By the Government of the People’s Republic of China on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes3 от 18.12.1992. Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and Government of the People’s Republic of China on cooperation in the field of manned space exploration of 25.04.19964. These agreements are used to understand the historiography of relations between China and Russia.