Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

The Copernicus programme -often framed as the EU space sectors flagship- combines the most extensive infrastructure for Earth Observation, with an open-data policy. This paper applies a STS lens to analyse how Copernicus policies, technologies and data, are relating to EU integration and governance.

Paper long abstract

Earth Observation (EO) data, primarily drawn from satellite infrastructures, is becoming increasingly important for EU governance and consequently, European integration. This is evident in two ways: a) the Copernicus programme and its technologies are specifically developed to meet the needs of EU policymakers, and b) policy decisions across different scales are frequently based on Copernicus data. This paper explores the entanglements of EU-governance paradigms and the Copernicus EO programme, drawing on concepts from STS including material semiotics, co-production, and material politics. These should be combined with the theoretical framework of multilevel-governance to generate valuable insights on the EU and EO. For instance, I argue that by maintaining Copernicus, the EU demonstrates its capacity for autonomous high-tech infrastructure, portraying itself as a unified, potent actor in the "New Space" era - both symbolically through imaginaries and materially through technical capability. Simultaneously, Copernicus swiftly replaces fragmented national measurement methodologies and technologies with a centralized framework. This facilitates cross-border policy enforcement, while at the same time, the supposedly ‘neutral’ data induces an effect of abstraction and depoliticization of apparent crises. Furthermore, by making Copernicus data public, the EU passes on the responsibility to develop digital-products or act upon immediate crises down to entities at lower levels within its institutional framework. This exemplifies the EU's multilevel-governance system, and expands the concept through the vertical dimensions of the EO setup. To support these arguments, I will collect empirical data using ethnographic research methods, including expert interviews and the analysis of legal and technical documents.