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12. Setting Norms for Activities in Space
- Georgetown University Press
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201 Space is a very demanding domain in which to operate, even when nations choose not to impose barriers to each other’s success. Space can easily become a chaotic domain as more countries, national enterprises, international consortiums, and nongovernmental entities with contesting agendas seek gains or seek to deny gains to others. Some barriers to successful space operations are growing markedly, such as space debris that can have indiscriminate and lethal effects. Other potential barriers in the form of multipurpose technologies such as lasers that could be used to interrupt, harm, or destroy spacecraft or their operations are not hard to acquire. Any space-faring nation that has the capability to launch and maintain satellites in orbit also has the capability to create havoc in space. Space is a domain where the prisoner’s dilemma could fill many jail cells. Without rules, there are no rule breakers. Norms establish standards, set expectations, and clarify irresponsible behavior. They can help nations that act responsibly to isolate and to facilitate appropriate actions against rule breakers. Norms can evolve from customary practices reflecting the self-interest of individual states. These norms can be clarified by the passage of national laws or regulations, and if enough countries agree to the same customary practices, they can become codes of conduct with international standing. Some codes are deemed important enough—such as the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons or a ban on the possession and use of chemical and biological weapons—as to warrant codification in treaty form. Even in the absence of formal codification, norm setting can help order potentially chaotic domains. The magna carta that established norms for national operations in space is the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, also known as the Outer Space Treaty (OST).1 This treaty was negotiated in 1967 during the Johnson administration. The nature and challenges of space operations have CHAP TER 12 Setting Norms for Activities in Space MICHAEL KREPON Setting Norms for Activities in Space 202 changed significantly in subsequent decades. Many more countries now use space for military, commercial, and other purposes.2 National enterprises and multinational consortiums have become active in space, which was not the case at the outset of the space age. Geosynchronous orbit has become crowded and space debris has grown exponentially in recent years.3 The principles and norms of responsible behavior established by the OST require updating. A rare opportunity exists to do so by crafting a code of conduct that responsible space-faring nations can adhere to, but many challenges lie ahead. NORM SETTING FOR SPACE In the 1960s there were concerns that a US–Soviet space race could spark a superpower conflict in which weapons would constantly be circling overhead. Instead , space became a domain of uncommon strategic restraint, even as Washington and Moscow produced and deployed many thousands of nuclear weapons. Why did the superpower arms race not extend into space? One reason was that strategic competition was dangerous enough on earth and both superpowers understood that it would become far more dangerous if elevated into space.The fragility of mankind’s initial forays into the heavens and the promise of future steps were sufficiently understood that both the United States and the Soviet Union refrained from actions in space that could have had negative, spiraling consequences. The vehicles that the superpowers used to begin setting norms for responsible activities in space were two UN resolutions, Stationing Weapons of Mass Destruction in Outer Space of October 1963 and the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space of December 1963. These resolutions were the precursors to the OST.4 Among the norms established by the OST are that the exploration and use of outer space are to be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations ; the deployment of nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is prohibited; the establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons, and the conduct of military maneuvers on celestial bodies are prohibited; states bear international responsibility for activities carried out by governmental agencies and nongovernmental entities within their national jurisdiction; states are liable for damages resulting...