The Future of Cooperation in Space

There are basically two schools of thoughts on outer space governance. China and Russia on one side wish to make a binding treaty of non-weaponization and no arms race in space while US-led western states on the other side claim that the weaponization of outer space is unavoidable and instead proposes to develop non-legally binding rules on responsible behaviors. These two views are not necessarily incompatible. A dual-track approach is that all parties agree to the goal of negotiating a binding treaty of non-weaponization and no arms race while encouraging discussions on responsible behaviors that could serve the goal of preventing an arms race in outer space. For that to happen, major powers should accept “mutually assured vulnerability” in space and take the lead in cooperation wherever possible.

Space (punctuation) · Computer Science · Space exploration and regulation · Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life