CCR’s treatment of the Pacific has been anchored by John Grayzel’s “Polynesian Civilization and the Future Colonization of Space” in v80, which argues that the Polynesian achievement of settling the vast Pacific through navigation, double-hulled voyaging canoes and wayfinding stars was a civilizational achievement on a par with any other in world history. Grayzel argues that the Polynesian migration across thousands of miles of open ocean, the “great pauses,” and the institutions of Hōkūle’a make Polynesian civilization a model for the future colonization of space. The article situates Polynesia geographically, examines its institutions (navigation, the Pa system, mana, kapu/tapu), and asks whether Polynesia qualifies as a “civilization” in the comparative sense.

Jeremy C. A. Smith’s “In and Out of Place: Civilizational Interaction and the Making of Australia in Oceania and Asia” in v80 examines the role of Australia as a civilizational contact zone between Oceanic, Asian and European civilizations, with attention to the making of Australian identity in the interplay between Aboriginal, Oceanic, Asian and European civilizational inputs.

In v93, “Beyond Earth: Strategic Pathways to a Multiplanet Civilization and the Case for Mars Settlement” extends the civilizational framework to multi-planetary expansion, with sections on Mars city design, the timeline for settlement, off-world financial systems, and the philosophical implications of becoming a multiplanet species for human self-identity.

Source summaries:

  • v80 (Spring 2019) — John Grayzel, “Polynesian Civilization and the Future Colonization of Space,” with attention to Polynesian migration, navigation as a defining institution, the role of Hōkūle’a; Jeremy C. A. Smith, “In and Out of Place: Civilizational Interaction and the Making of Australia in Oceania and Asia.” (v80)
  • v93 (Fall 2025) — “Beyond Earth: Strategic Pathways to a Multiplanet Civilization and the Case for Mars Settlement” treats multiplanet civilization as a contemporary civilizational question. (v93)