In the APSA Public Scholarship Program, graduate students in political science produce summaries of new research in the American Political Science Review. This piece, written by Irem B. A. Örsel, covers the new article by Alina Utrata, University of Cambridge, Engineering Territory: Space and Colonies in Silicon Valley
As the countdown of a rocket launch, announcing “10, 9, 8, …,” excitement is in the air. People are holding their breaths and even maybe daydreaming, depicting themselves in that rocket. Thinking about the destination of the rocket, the things they may do, and all the possibilities, they are witnessing the history of science. What if someone told them in these moments, they might be seeing the future landlords of outer space? Would they believe in the possibility of a space colony? Some of the biggest technology entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, are racing not only to visit outer space but also to make it their own. But here is the twist: this ongoing race, even supported by the government of the United States, looks like the old days when explorers sought to find new lands and ended up stating them as their own. This situation is like the days when corporations were players in claiming new lands.
In a recent fascinating APSR article by Alina Utrata, we are invited to reconsider these futuristic ambitions of outer space colonialism through a historical lens. Utrata presents the parallels between today’s space colonialism efforts by corporations in Silicon Valley and the terrestrial colonialism of the past, highlighting the necessity of having a more holistic approach in considering territorialism and non-territorial entities as political actors. Utrata mentions that the efforts of making space colonialism a reality are not only about exploring; rather they are about owning, governing, and making rules for new places beyond our planet. In her article, she provides a historical analysis comparatively by showing the similarities between the colonial efforts of the past and the recent ambitions for space colonization by focusing on two elites of Silicon Valley: Bezos and Musk.
Utrata shows that while Musk’s main motivation for space colonization is creating an independent society that is free from the Earth and its institutions, laws, and rules, Bezos’ primary goal is creating a place on the orbit of the Earth to save the planet making it a huge state park without living in it and consuming its goods. Utrata indicates the similarity of these motivations to the old colonial times by connecting the ideas of settler colonialism with Musk and the opinions of settlement while protecting home territory with Bezos. Similar to Musk’s points, settler colonialism of the past sought to establish autonomous, new communities, far away from their home states, generally idealizing the creation of a new society that did not have any problems of the homelands for a fresh start. On the other hand, Bezos’ vision is similar to the aspects of imperialism, where the exploitation of colonies was for wealth, progress, and sometimes civilization to the colonizing nation, protecting the home state. Thus, although Musk’s and Bezos’ goals look different at the first sight, they both are examples of the logic of territorialization and dispossession. Both considerations on the notion of space as an empty frontier ready to be engineered and controlled for occupation and use are echoes of seeing unoccupied lands as opportunities to be taken. Utrata connects these contemporary ambitions on space to historical events and the logic of colonization, indicating how these ambitions are rooted in a long tradition of exploiting new lands for the benefit of others. At this stage, she introduces a new concept for this situation, engineering territory, where technology and ambition meet to create new places to control. Through this lens, engineering territory becomes a modern expression of colonial expansion, where space is seen as the next place for power projection and territorial sovereignty extension.
“The strength of this article is in its ability to connect past and present, showing the colonial reasonings of Silicon Valley’s futuristic visions”.Utrata also explores the role of corporations and its similarity to colonialism in the past. She highlights how historical colonial ventures generally saw corporations like the British East India Company as economic entities. Simultaneously, she mentions these ventures as key players of territorial expansion as crucial powers in governing and exploiting lands. This historical standpoint is equivalent to the ambitions of Musk and Bezos are modern iterations of colonial-era corporations, where space is the new frontier for corporate-led territorial claims and governance. By mentioning how Musk and Bezos would like to use their resources, technological capabilities, and vision to govern space without any intervention by the Earth, its states, or its institutions, Utrata shows the continuity of corporate involvement in colonial practices.
The strength of this article is in its ability to connect past and present, showing the colonial reasonings of Silicon Valley’s futuristic visions. It is a reminder that the motivation to colonize generally has deeper drives of control, governance, and profit even though it is not on Earth. Additionally, Utrata’s analyses challenge traditional views, seeing space colonialism as a completely different concept from territorial colonialism. In conclusion, Utrata’s article is not only a critique and examination of space colonization. Rather, it is an invitation to critically think about our ambitions and their impacts. As we are in the new era of exploration, Utrata recommends us to reconsider who gets costs and benefits. It is a compelling call to make sure that our future in space and all other territories, is not only a repeat of our colonial past but a step toward a more thoughtful engagement with the universe by reconsidering the necessity of territorialization and non-political entities.
- Irem B. A. Örsel is a Ph.D. student in Political Science at Tulane University. She holds a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from Middle East Technical University (Turkey) and a Master’s in Political Science from Eastern Illinois University. Her primary research interests are comparative political behavior, populism, judicial behavior, and computational social science methods. She focuses comparatively on Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and the United States of America. Irem is a first-generation student and an advocate of public service and public scholarship.
- UTRATA, ALINA. 2023. “Engineering Territory: Space and Colonies in Silicon Valley.” American Political Science Review, 1–16.
- About the APSA Public Scholarship Program.
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