New frontiers: Remote sensing in social science research

An expedition is planned for highly detailed remote sensing of the physical and environmental aspects of planet Earth. However, the possibilities of such remote sensing for social and political research have been largely overlooked by sociologists. Remote sensing is a potentially revolutionary instrument with significant methodological and theoretical implications. Changes in the Earth's environment and surface features will be monitored continuously in an objective way. Some of these changes could be used by social scientists as indicators of social and political changes.