The space club - Space policies and politics

This paper explores the theoretical and empirical aspects of the "space club" in world politics. The "space club" is not an international organization it is a concept or a metaphor that is used extensively in world politics jargon. The principle argument is that analysis of space politics and policies through the prism of the "space club" highlights social and political factors and needs as motivations to embark on national large-scale national projects like a space program. For this reason, the paper presents a few guidelines in order to have a common understanding of this concept for future discussion and debate. Thus, it provides an initial definition and suggests a pyramid model as the most suitable to describe the structure of the "space club.".