Abstract:
This research examines the impact of the United States and China geopolitical rivalry over
space on humanity’s progress arguing that conflict—rather than collaboration—fuels
innovation. The study is based on Kenneth Waltz’s Neorealist Theory and claims that in an
international system lacking authority, great rival powers need to vie for superiority. It critiques
historical and contemporary space races to illustrate how both nations pursuing technological
arms competition has propelled progress in AI, quantum computing, aerospace engineering,
and satellite defense systems. China counters US hegemony with a centralistic approach
through CNSAs and programs like BeiDou. The United States counters by protecting its
strategic advantage through collaboration with the private sector. The study proposes a
Conflict-Progress Model to explain how destructive competition inadvertently enhances
humanity's development. The study suggests fierce strategic competition fundamentally alters
global power dynamics and aggressively propels innovation, restructuring hegemony, and
turning outer space into the next contested zone of geostrategic rivalry.
