ALTERNATIVE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL REACTIONS TO SPS James R. Brownell, Jr., Ph.D. and Michael J. Stoll, Ph.D. KAPPA Systems, Inc. - Arlington, Virginia Several studies incorporated in the assessment of the Satellite Power System (SPS) concept and its societal implications refer to the issue of international reaction to SPS research and commercialization. The general findings of the earlier studies, summarized in the SPS Preliminary Societal Assessment (May 1979), suggest that "...an international organization is strongly suggested for SPS development and commercialization." An institution similar to COMSAT/INTELSAT is described as the optimum means of dealing with international reactions to SPS. The rationale for this finding appears to be based on the following implicit assumptions: • international reaction to SPS will be analogous to previous reaction to the development of communications satellite technology (hence the comparison with INTELSAT); • international reaction to, and acceptance of, SPS will be relatively coherent and, by Western standards, relatively rational; • the primary concerns underlying international reaction to SPS will be technological (e.g., how SPS can be designed to optimize cost-effective energy transmission with minimum environmental impact) and, to a lesser extent, concerns of equity of distribution of SPS benefits; and • existing norms of international law and treaties-in-force will provide the framework for international reaction to SPS. This paper represents a critique of these assumptions from the perspective of the theory and practice of international politics. Observations of bloc and national behavior in international fora on "common heritage" resource issues suggest that primary attention in assessing alternative international reactions to SPS should be focused on the perceptions of national interest invoked by the development and implementation of satellite power systems. This argument is based on the following hypotheses: • SPS development and implementation differs from the development of communications satellite technology in that SPS involves exploitation of resources which may be considered part of the "common heritage" of Mankind, and impinges directly on the future relative economic and political power capabilities of sovereign states. The best analogy to SPS development is therefore the development of deep-sea mining technology rather than communications satellite technology. • International reaction to developments affecting "common heritage" resources consists of the varied reactions of national governments and blocs, rather than a single, rational, relatively coherent international reaction.
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