Could an optional protocol be the way to stop the weaponization of outer space?
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/00207020211020521 |
| Author | Paul Meyer |
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Policy Brief |
Policy Brief
International Journal
2021, Vol. 76(2) 332–339
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00207020211020521
journals.sagepub.com/home/ijx
Could an optional protocol
be the way to stop the
weaponization of outer space?
Paul Meyer
School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver,
BC, Canada
Abstract
Since the early 1980s, the United Nations General Assembly and its affiliated forum, the
Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, has had the Prevention of an Arms Race in
Outer Space issue on its agenda. In the intervening years, the threat of weapons being
introduced into the outer space realm has waxed and waned, but, in the main, a benign
environment free from man-made threats has prevailed, allowing for great strides in the
exploration and use of space. Recently, a renewal of great power rivalry including the
development of offensive “counter-space”capabilities has resurrected the spectre of
armed conflict in space. With widespread political support for the non-weaponization
of outer space, has the time come to give legal expression to this goal by means of an
optional protocol to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty?
Keywords
space security, Outer Space Treaty, diplomacy, international space law, weaponization
of outer space, space arms control, optional protocol
As a career diplomat in an earlier life with a professional focus on arms control and
disarmament policy, I was always puzzled by an aspect of global attitudes towards
security in outer space. In brief, I found difficult to understand the contrast between a
clearly expressed wish to preserve outer space for peaceful use, including prevention of
its weaponization, and the lack of purposeful state action to achieve this goal.
Corresponding author:
Paul Meyer, School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University, 7200-515 West Hastings Street,
Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3, Canada.
Email: pmeyer@sfu.ca
To continue reading
Request your trial