Sovereignty and interstellar travels

Question

Let’s consider the typical setting of 20th-century science fiction writers, both Western and Communist. Namely:

• Transportation within planets is cheap, quick, and is not significantly restricted;
• Transportation between planets (in vicinity of the same star) is ubiquitous and (in civilized systems at peace) relatively safe;
• Interstellar travel is possible, although they are expensive or dangerous, usually both to some extent, in any case significantly more difficult than circumstellar travels;
• There exist several (possibly many) essentially different civilized races living in different physical conditions.

Which political structure can be sufficiently stable in such conditions? Very likely, a typical developed planet or other astronomical object will not have significant pieces belonging to more than one sovereign state (that does not preclude some states to extend authority to several planets), and, in most situations in outer space, a state will maintain its sovereignty over its spaceships. I.e., a situation similar to modern Earth with planets/moons instead of islands (divided planets will become an anomalous condition), and spaceships instead of vessels.

On one hand, different planets in a stellar system typically have different physical conditions (most notable, temperature), and we can expect that their populace will differ (remember several civilized races) as well, both biologically and culturally. On another hand, some central authorities will probably exist in circumstellar spaces. But how the two could be related in cases of heterogeneous populace in vicinity of one star? Some possible formations are:

1. A violent agent that is stronger economically or militarily, or enjoys an external (interstellar) support, subjugates its neighbourhood, depriving planets of any external sovereignty, and (in case of a victorious government) possibly annexes and colonizes them outright.
2. Some combination of planetary (domestic) sovereignty and a centralized “interstellar superpower” controlling outer space and space trade, likely by space navy, but restraining from conquest and extortion of developed planets in its space (think various “great unions of planets” in fiction).
3. A confederacy of racially diverse and economically rivalling states seeking primarily to deter wars, to protect their common outer space from piracy and invaders, and to resist a blatant external interference in general (think Iroquois League, with a correction for racial diversity).
4. An advanced interstellar system of relations, based on numerous treaties, maintains a complicated political balance and legal space in a large volume of physical space (along the lines of United Nations and Earth’s superpowers, or other known systems of international relations).
5. A huge democracy effects a (nominally) undivided sovereignty over a large volume of space.
6. An oligarchy of industrial or merchant corporations, with their space fleets, suppresses and subordinates weak territorial- and/or racial-based governments (popular or else).
7. Some novel form of government based on a powerful conscious agent: specially designed governing computer (likely distributed), collective consciousness of individuals, or some mental power we now can’t explicate. Makes the problem of “sovereignty” moot.
8. No stable structure at all: persistent wars, coups, rebellions, alliances and infightings, ever expanding and fragmenting empires and dictatorships.

Please, give assessments of my types of formations from different perspectives: humanistic, liberal, Realpolitik, and economical. Which transition scenarios between different formations can be envisaged? Which scenarios of clashes between such formations (both of similar or dissimilar structure) will be plausible?

Answer 1

I think the scope of your question is too large to be easily answered here except by essay. I recommend breaking it apart for specifics.

That being said, your primary concern about the spaceo-political structure that would develop would likely be some combination of what you have listed. Take into account that all worlds/species will likely not be equally technologically advanced. That can have a profound influence on the structure that would arise in each system.

Consider Earth, 19th century as an example. Most people were culturally isolated, and as such didn't have any exposure to lots of things we take for granted today. Lack of variety caused a lot of prejudice, misinformation, and unfair stereotypes of other races and cultures. There were adventurers and merchants, certainly, but most people were pretty xenophobic by nature.

Goods from around the world provided ample opportunity for trade. Something common in one area would be rare and exotic in another. Think of the introduction of the banana at the 1876 World's Fair, or silk from China.

I think commerce would be the driver of contact between worlds. More advanced cultures would certainly take advantage of less advanced cultures, and the desire of one world to assert dominance over another would depend on their prevailing world view. One culture may see themselves as superior, and their religion may demand they colonize and proselytize wherever they can. Another culture may be a kind of insectoid hive mind, and not want to have anything to do with other cultures.

Again, commerce will be your driving factor behind the motivations of not just individual worlds, but individuals from each of the worlds. Treaties will be formed to create or secure commercial interests as waging wars across hard-to-travel interstellar boundaries will be too impractical.

Answer 2

Most important issue is immensity of time. Sufficiently advanced civilization will have no interest to communicate/trade with less advanced. In most cases, it would not even notice, or care, about existence of less developed civilizations.

Compare humans and ants - separated by some 200 MY of evolution. When walking, do you care if you step on an ant? Would you change your stride to avoid it? Would you consider sparing anthills when planning highway?

Because pace of progress increases, differences might be even more gaping. Earth is 4.5 BY old, universe is 13+ BY old. Differences in level of development would be even bigger that differences of physical conditions.

Or even closer: we don't have any good way to communicate with our own monkey ancestors (except limited efforts with really close primates), some 20-30 MY apart. Out of which only last 70 KY humans can be distinguished from animals by external observer. best we can do is train monkeys, using their own skills.

Just few centuries ago humans had no problem exterminating other humans (native Americans) because they were considered primitive and competed for resources.

Don't be naive. Sharing between significantly unequal partners is completely dependent on the morale and the rules of the more senior partner.