Realism and space power: are space activities becoming a conflict area in international relations?

The long-established idea of outer space as a realm of universal human cooperation has acquired an unprecedented number of issues in recent years, with space activities themselves taking on a significantly more conflicted character than in previous decades. The power associated with the conduct of space activities has been the subject of academic research since the early days of humanity's engagement in this domain, with realism being one of the central theoretical approaches in the field. The classical rivalry between realist, liberal, and constructivist theories draws primarily on the grasp of concepts of space power, strategy, and the overall shape of international relations in the realm of outer space activities, with the basic descriptive feature of realist conceptions being the perception of outer space as another geographic domain to be exploited in the ongoing and inevitable struggle for power. In political science and international relations, the concept of power represents an imaginary sun around which other objects in a given galaxy revolve. Although there is some ambiguity in the perception of the concept of power, a large number of theories of cosmic power have been developed to deal with different aspects of cosmic activity, whether in the civil, military, economic, or environmental spheres. One of the most influential theories in this area has been Everett Dolman's realist conception of Astropolitics, which has been in many ways surpassed, but its reflections can be seen in contemporary works by authors such as Nayef R. Al-Rodhan, John J. Klein, and Bleddyn Bowen. Recent years have brought several developments related to the space domain, which can be seen in terms of international cooperation, the formation of rival blocs, or the rhetoric used concerning the ongoing war in Ukraine. The escalation of tensions in space activities is a new phenomenon in international relations, and the proposed paper will explore the reasons and implications of this issue. The first segment is the diplomatic sector, which is closely linked to the relations between space powers, with the most prominent current event being the war in Ukraine. In this conflict, space technology plays a significant but not decisive role, which supports the theory that space power is a force multiplier rather than a decisive instrument to gain world supremacy. At the same time, one can observe unilateral aggressive rhetoric from the Russian Federation in the field of space activities evoking the possibility of war in space. The economic sphere is a second example, whereby the huge potential of space activities in this area has become the subject of disputes, for instance, in the area of mineral extraction in space and the basis for the creation of two space blocks. Last but not least, the environmental issue of space activities must not be neglected, which has the potential for space cooperation, but broader cooperation in this area is lacking. The proposed work aims to describe and analyze the ongoing changes in space activities and their impact on the issue of space power.