WORLD AFFAIRS: The Journal of International Issues – Issue on Exopolitics

Mankind has reached a critical stage in its evolution and has to come
to grips with daunting environmental and existential challenges. After
behaving as the rulers of their local world for many centuries, human
beings must acknowledge that they are a relatively minor species on
one of an essentially infinite number of planets and that they may be
about to kill all earthly life, including their own, by their irresponsibly
aggressive and greedy actions. Former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister
PAUL HELLYER spells out some of the facts that condition our survival
and should inspire our collective behaviour.

All
cultures are infused by or even rooted in certain values. Although
these values are generally recognised in all societies, they are
diversely
ranked or prioritised in different human groups; varying perceptions
partly account for cultural diversity as not all values can be equally
upheld in any community or by any individual. CHENYANG LI argues that
though value universalism in a strict sense is unachievable, we can all
agree on a pluralistic mutual understanding of and tolerance for
diversity.

Human
value systems are determined, or at least influenced by cultural
prejudices, which often blind us to certain aspects of reality when
they
contradict inherited beliefs or established theories. BRENT SMITH calls
for a worldwide process of self-reflexity to develop our understanding
and communicating abilities as a species, between ourselves and with
the universe at large.

For
three years in the British Ministry of Defence, the author ran the
Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Project—investigating sightings
reported to the government, looking for evidence of potential threats
or anything judged to be of “defence significance”. In 2007, the French
Government released its archive of UFO files followed by the British
Government in 2008. NICK POPE clarifies the position, explains what has
already happened, what is happening and what future developments
people can expect.

COME
CARPENTIER DE GOURDON points out that scientific and technological
progress, particularly in the last few decades, reflects the
influence of new knowledge systems and notions of reality that are
forcing us to gradually discard some of our most cherished religious
and epistemic concepts while reviving some long forgotten myths and
traditions. The evidence that we are part of a very complex and
probably densely populated universe shows that we must reorganise our
institutions and change our frames of reference in order to move
on to the next evolutionary level as a planetary species, related to
the Cosmos at large.

Globalisation
is an overwhelming, seemingly irreversible process,
transforming all economic, political, social and cultural realities.
While its real and assumed benefits are celebrated by dominant powers,
its negative or problematic effects are becoming ever more apparent, in
the midst of the major international crisis that has just begun. C
SHEELA REDDY makes a case for building environmentally and socially
responsible, equitable and democratic systems capable of effectively
managing globalisation by mitigating its adverse impacts and
consequences.

Confronted
with record unpopularity abroad, a discontented people at home and a
disastrous economic situation, made worse by the
runaway costs of two unwinnable wars and the upkeep of an often
dysfunctional global military footprint, the US Government must carry
out a major and necessarily painful transformation of its domestic and
foreign policies to help build a multilateral, fair and democratic
world order. ISMAIL SHARIFF notes that America will have to share
power with other nations if solutions are to be implemented for the
most critical crises affecting the planet as a whole, some of which
threaten the very survival of the USA.

If
modern economic societies consist of three sectors: governments,
corporations and not-for-profit associations, then a fourth sector can
be seen taking shape in the more advanced economies. It is made up
of enterprises dedicated to the universal common good. TERRY MOLLNER
describes the emergence and salient features of this fourth sector,
dedicated to managing resources and securing profits in the general
interest.

MICHAEL E SALLA points out that recently, many former high officials
have publicly disclosed direct experiences with advanced extraterrestrial
lifeforms and have acknowledged government suppression of the
relevant hard data. Exopolitics focuses on the public policy implications
of the evidence concerning extraterrestrial life, unlike traditional
Ufology, which merely seeks to conduct rigorous scientific analysis to
confirm the facts. It is high time to involve the public in this issue of
critical relevance, which remains hitherto mostly restricted to the area
of national security.

Exopolitics,
the new Political Science of outer space, aims to define
relations between our human civilisation and other intelligent
organisations in the Universe. Like all models, Exopolitics provides a
path for minds to go where they have not ventured before. Since its
first formal expression in 2000, the Exopolitics Model has provided
an accelerating interface between human and visiting extraterrestrial
societies. ALFRED LAMBREMONT WEBRE, one of its founders, makes the case
that in our era, it may function as a new survival and evolutionary
toolkit for humanity.

The
future of mankind is under major threat, partly because of our growing
interference with the planetary eco-system and our frantic consumption
of natural resources. According to ANTONELLO LUPINO
and PAOLA LEOPIZZI HARRIS our political and scientific leaders seem to
have ignored warnings and advice that might have spared us much of
our current crisis. Is there still time to change course and build a
harmonious global civilisation, rooted in the principles of universal
peaceful coexistence and ecological wisdom?

Global warming is only one the major symptoms of the planetary
ecological crisis which threatens the survival of mankind and many
other living species. NARESH KUMAR VERMA argues that the remedial
measures adopted so far are clearly insufficient as they generally do not
address the causes of environmental degradation. Attempts at
conservation often ignore the larger sustainable development imperative.
Beyond palliative legislation, the globalised liberal economic system
must be tackled, since it is the main destructive factor.