Political Dimension of Space in: Brünner, Christian/Soucek, Alexander (eds.) Outer Space in Society, Politics and Law. Vienna: SpringerWienNewYork (2011).

Due to the wide number of space applications solving earthly problems in a broad range of issue-areas, space activities have a clear political dimension. In this article, the origins and causes of this increasing political relevance of space after the end of the Cold War are shown. The political dimension of space is then explained using the classical functions of politics developed by two influential political scientists, David Easton and Ernst-Otto Czempiel. Building upon these definitions, the main components of space policy are presented. Finally, the concrete expressions of the political relevance of space are sketched, namely the development of national space policies and the emergence of international cooperation in space.