This article will discuss the development of space politics as a means for countries to create modern “wars”. Countries today are pitting against each other, creating strategies to find modern warfare technology for the sake of their country’s security.  The world has moved very fast, the development of technology has reached an amazing stage. Everyone is competing to create great, magnificent, and unparalleled new inventions in all fields, including modern weaponry and space technology. Technological developments in Outer Space have included political, economic, and even military aspects. Although the development of modern technology in space does have many beneficial benefits for countries in maintaining their stability, it is undeniable that the space technology, including space weapons, they develop can trigger conflicts. A space weapon is any system that directly works to defeat space assets from a terrestrial-based location or a terrestrial-based target from space. Space will potentially be a place for the evolution of new warfare technologies and weaponry for countries to increase their power. According to V. Anantatmula there are four scenarios that will occur in the advancement of space weapons, namely:

1. Space weapons will follow space trade and protection of economic interests.
2. Weapons will be used to seize the highest place (protection of military interests).
3. The weapons will be used to take advantage of the diplomatic influence of the militarization of space (the protection of diplomatic interests).
4. Military superiority on Earth will be achieved by space-based systems, and weaponry creates tremendous offensive potential (hegemony formation).

Strategist Everett Dolman provides a theory based on a geopolitical model. He stated that, instead of cooperation, political and economic competition will increase rapidly as space exploration progresses, where there will be a strong incentive to put aside wishful thinking in the pursuit of power, wealth, and prestige. Competition that continues to peak will continue to disrupt the status quo in the international order. Through the theory of Neorealism in international relations, we can see this as a form of balancing power for the state to prevent or resist hegemonic forces. The state will act to strengthen its military power to “secure” itself because of the anarchic international system. The development of military technology to modernize is one way for the country to survive because the anarchic system does not have a “night watchman” who always watches over all the actions taken by the countries. The state must have tried to increase its power in any way in order to dominate or simply to avoid conflict. This power race can basically trigger disputes between countries that have the potential to create wars. The notion that “the more powerful and sophisticated the war technology is, the more control over the entire world can be obtained” makes them seem to not care if war actually happens.

This scenario has the potential to trigger international conflicts. The state will continue to strive to reach the pinnacle of hegemony to dominate the entire world with its power. With powerful and sophisticated weaponry, they can protect all interests and can easily avoid conflicts or threats. Moreover, if we re-examine it, this dominance will only be won by developed and rich countries because they have the money, power, and ability to obtain cutting-edge war technology with the alibi of maintaining geopolitics, economics, and others. These powerful nations will always race for the top spot, vying for power that will eventually become a conflict for the “most strategic place” for their weapons in space. Meanwhile, developing and underdeveloped countries will always be at the bottom of the food chain pyramid that can always be pressured and forced to comply with threats. Backward countries will always get “interference” from powerful countries because of their lack of power or because they have no other choice.

The future of space politics is in the hands of contemporary and new space actors. Although space as a military-diplomatic domain is an area that is being reconstructed with many undecided norms or principles and some important changes likely to emerge, the truth is that regulations regarding technological development, exploration, and others regarding space have long been established by the United Nations. The regulation is known as the Outer Space Treaty which was made so that the interests of countries regarding matters related to space are carried out for peaceful purposes. The OST also regulates the prohibition of the use of weapons, such as nuclear weaponry which is strictly prohibited from being placed in space. However, this treaty does not have a specific provision that prohibits the use of conventional weapons. This means that the use of satellites for all military capability-building operations that do not directly attack enemy assets, such as communications, reconnaissance, surveillance, or eavesdropping (cyberattacks) can still be developed. Such capabilities will be an “adrenaline rush” for countries to compete to develop their research in space with the aim of “smoothing the way” for the interests of militarization in a fast and accurate time and of course with minimal risk.

A country that has always felt “hungry” to satisfy its greed for world domination, will continue to seek to conduct research to make the latest evolution of modern tools of war in order to satisfy their lusts. The existence of a cutting-edge and sophisticated private satellite for the space system can function as a tool for espionage, eavesdropping, eliminating important and crucial data, and providing extensive interference with the network in a country. It will be much easier for the state to win the war and set its strategy if it has information about the enemy early. It can be said that these “weapons” are potentially effective to be used in increasing military power, posing a threat to other countries, and securing positions in the system. An example of this development of warfare technology is the Palestinian Martyr al-Aqsa navigation system that uses Google Earth to target rocket attacks. These satellites are also capable of gathering information and providing early warning for their brigades.