The political desirability, feasibility, and sustainability of planetary defense governance

Abstract Planetary defense is a delicate topic that has inherently sincere intentions – to save the Earth, biosphere or humankind from an asteroid capable of causing an extinction event. However, the call for action in an exceptional situation that uses scientific knowledge to rationalize exceptional political decisions is an obvious target for criticism by critical security studies scholars. The following article offers a policy framework to avoid the inevitable harsh criticism when any planetary defense policy is thoughtfully designed. The aim is to bring knowledge from political science and international relations theory to the planetary defense community to help build the future planetary defense political and technical architecture that will be desirable, feasible and will sustain. The article argues that it must be ethically desirable for involved actors, politically feasible in the current international system and sustainable in the long-term for the sake of humankind survival and prosperity. The theoretical approach reflects realistic dynamics between nation states but also proposes more visionary cosmopolitan future of humankind; it introduces ethical security studies to argue why, when and how planetary defense can be ethical but also derives from neoliberal thought to propose a policy of technological interdependence. The article combines critical reflections of current technical proposals, anticipate the criticism and proposes the least complicated way through the maze of international relations. The planetary defense has potential to unite people around the world in the Ulrich Beck's cosmopolitan vision, but it must take into consideration that rational solutions focused on effectivity enabled by engineered technology do not necessarily bring the desirable future.