An Assessment Framework for Compliance with International Space Law and Norms: Promoting Equitable Access and Use of Space for Emerging Actors

144 Pages·2020·57.503 MB·English

by  David Lindgren

Southern Space Studies
Series Editor: Annette Froehlich
David Lindgren
An Assessment
Framework
for Compliance
with International
Space Law and Norms
Promoting Equitable Access and Use
of Space for Emerging Actors
Southern Space Studies
Series Editor
Annette Froehlich , University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Associate Editors
Dirk Heinzmann, Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, Hamburg, Germany
André Siebrits, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Advisory Editors
Josef Aschbacher, European Space Agency, Frascati, Italy
RigobertBayala,NationalObservatoryofSustainableDevelopment,Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso
Carlos Caballero León, Peruvian Space Agency, Lima, Peru
Guy Consolmagno, Vatican Observatory, Castel Gandolfo, Vatican City State
Juan de Dalmau, International Space University, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
Driss El Hadani, Royal Center for Remote Sensing of Morocco, Rabat, Morocco
El Hadi Gashut, Regional Center For Remote Sensing of North Africa States,
Tunis, Tunisia
FranciscoJavierMendieta-Jiménez,MexicanSpaceAgency,MexicoCity,Mexico
Félix Clementino Menicocci, Argentinean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Buenos
Aires, Argentina
Sias Mostert, African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment,
Muizenburg, South Africa
Val Munsami, South African National Space Agency, Silverton, South Africa
Greg Olsen, Entrepreneur-Astronaut, Princeton, NJ, USA
Azzedine Oussedik, Algerian Space Agency, Alger, Algeria
Xavier Pasco, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, Paris, France
Alejandro J. Román M., Paraguayan Space Agency, Asunción, Paraguay
Kai-Uwe Schrogl, International Institute of Space Law, Paris, France
Dominique Tilmans, YouSpace, Wellin, Belgium
Jean-Jacques Tortora, European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria
Robert van Zyl, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville, South Africa
The Southern Space Studies series presents analyses of space trends, market
evolutions,policies,strategiesandregulations,aswellastherelatedsocial,economic
and political challenges of space-related activities in the Global South, with a
particular focus on developing countries in Africa and Latin America. Obtaining
inside informationfromemergingspace-faringcountriesintheseregionsispivotal
to establish and strengthen efficient and beneficial cooperation mechanisms in the
space arena, and to gain a deeper understanding of their rapidly evolving space
activities.Tothisend,theseriesprovidestransdisciplinaryinformationforafruitful
development of space activities in relevant countries and cooperation with
established space-faring nations. It is, therefore, a reference compilation for space
activitiesintheseareas.
The volumes of the series are peer-reviewed.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/16025
David Lindgren
An Assessment
Framework
for Compliance
with International Space
Law and Norms
Promoting Equitable Access and Use
of Space for Emerging Actors
123
DavidLindgren
University of Cape Town
Rondebosch,SouthAfrica
ISSN 2523-3718 ISSN 2523-3726 (electronic)
SouthernSpace Studies
ISBN978-3-030-15761-6 ISBN978-3-030-15762-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15762-3
©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2020
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard
tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
Preface
The number and types of space activities and space actors continue to increase,
posing new and unique challenges for space governance and policy. Presently, a
comprehensive, periodic, and systematic measure of states’ efforts to comply with
existinginternationalspacelawandnormsdoesnotexist,suggestingacriticalneed
toensurerobustandinformedpolicymakingasspaceactivitiesandactorsincrease.
Thereremainsalackofaconsistentapproachtomeasurecountries’adherenceand
compliance with international law and normative practices with regards to the
access and use of outer space.
This lack of measurement is owing to various factors, including difficulties in
measuring compliance because of a lack of deliverable and specific measures and
indicators within existing international instruments, difficulties in measuring com-
pliance because of open-ended interpretations of international instruments and
tracking domestication of said instruments by each signatory state, and disagree-
ment over the weighting of different parts of international instruments by various
spaceactorsdependingfromwhichsectortheyapproachtheissue(i.e.civilsociety,
military, government, and industry).
Additionally, the nascent stage of development for international space law,
compared to other areas of international law, combined with the relatively few
international space advocacy and research groups (again, comparable to other
fields) leads to uncertainty and disagreement on how to interpret alternative and
competing approaches for access to and use of outer space. Unequal access to
informationby different groups across civilsociety,government, and industry also
compounds this challenge in being able to successfully and comprehensively
measure and monitor states’ behaviour regarding outer space. Therefore, given
these conditions and the undefined consensus for what constitutes good behaviour
versusbadbehaviourfortheaccessanduseofouterspace,thisresearchwillseekto
make a contribution in setting normative understandings for how states should
behave according to a common baseline despite different, and sometimes com-
peting, priorities and interests.
Theresearchandanalysiscontainedhereincentresonanevidence-basedtoolfor
assessing compliance of spacefaring nations, ranging from advanced to interme-
diate to emerging spacefaring states, with international space law and norms.
v
vi Preface
Theobjectiveofthisassessmentistounderstandcountries’levelsofcompliance
withinternationalspacelawandnorms,andtoratecountriesaccordingtohowwell
they comply. The purpose of this assessment is not only to inform policymakers,
but also to introduce an accountability and advocacy tool useful for promoting
behaviourthatisinthespirit ofthepeaceful explorationanduseofouterspace by
all countries, a well-established principle found throughout international treaties,
resolutions, and guidelines regarding outer space.
The tool presented here generates scoring ranges for spacefaring states, ranging
fromhighlycomplianttonon-compliant,andremainssensitivetoeachstate’slevel
ofengagementinspace.Throughscoresassignedtoaseriesofquestionsassociated
witheachinternationallegalinstrument,resolution,principle,andguidelinesrelated
tospace, these scores areweighted and produce a finalscore on anumerical range
specific toadvanced, intermediate, and emerging spacefaring nations, respectively.
This ensures emerging spacefaring nations are not unfairly viewed against more
well-developed nations from a comparative perspective.
Thebookbeginsbyexploringtherootsandhistoryofsuchtoolsproposedhere,
exploring their growth evidence-based policymaking and programming movement
alongsidetheriseofratingsandrankingsresearch.Itthenmovesintoananalysisof
various prominent ratings and rankings used for characterising our
political-economic understanding of the world, including a discussion of their
disadvantagesandchallengesinstrivingtoprovideobjectivereflectionsofpolitical
and economic phenomena.
Following this, the book provides an overview of the many international space
legal instruments and treaties, resolutions, principles, and guidelines adopted and
promoted within the international community. Upon finishing this review, the
research then considers important benchmark questions and considerations
important to ensuring a sound ratings and rankings methodology before finally, in
the following chapter, describing the assessment tool, its weighting, and its ques-
tionnaire for assigning scores.
Thebookthenpresentsfivecasestudies(theUnitedStates,SouthKorea,Brazil,
SouthAfrica,andNigeria)towhichtheframeworkisappliedfordemonstratingits
utilityandpracticaluse.Thefivecasestudieswereselectedforthevaryinglevelsof
development they represent (advanced, intermediate, or emerging space nations),
and for their geographical representation. The conclusion then presents an outlook
for the framework’s future application and refinement, and describes in what
contexts and which actors could implement the tool and benefit from its findings.
Rondebosch, South Africa David Lindgren
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Objectives of this Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Evidence-Based Programming and Policymaking . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Ratings and Rankings Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Structure of this Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Existing Ratings and Rankings Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Ratings and Rankings Systems: Economics and Business . . . . . . 14
2.2 Select Ratings and Rankings Systems and Associated
Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 The Space Security Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4 Gaps in Existing Space Policy Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3 International Space Law and Norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1 Differences in Binding and Non-binding International
Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2 Binding International Space Law Treaties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.3 Binding International Space-Related Treaties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.4 Non-binding International Principles, Resolutions,
and Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4 Elements Comprising Assessment Methodologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.1 What Precisely Does It Aim to Measure?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.2 Does the Operational Definition Capture the Concept? . . . . . . . . 42
4.3 How Good (Reliable, Valid, and Complete) Are the Data? . . . . . 43
4.4 Is the Measure (Including All of Its Sub-components)
Transparent and Replicable? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.5 How Sensitive and Robust Is the Measure to Different
Data and Design Choices?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.6 Does the Measure Address Key Questions of Interest? . . . . . . . . 44
4.7 Does the Measure Fully Capture Governance in All Its
Complexity?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.8 Does the Measure Behave as Theory Predicts?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
vii
viii Contents
4.9 How Precisely Can Index Values and Confidence Intervals
Be Specified? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.10 Is the Weighting Correct? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5 Framework for Assessing Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.1 Review of the Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.1.1 General Scoring of the Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.1.2 Weighting of the Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.1.3 Aggregate Scoring of the Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.1.4 Scoring of Space-Specific International Treaties. . . . . . . . 53
5.1.5 Scoring of Space-Related International Treaties . . . . . . . . 60
5.1.6 Scoring of Non-binding International Principles,
Resolutions, and Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.2 Application of the Framework to Five Test Cases. . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.2.1 Rationale for Selection of Case Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.2.2 Scoring of the United States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.2.3 Scoring of South Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.2.4 Scoring of Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.2.5 Scoring of South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.2.6 Scoring of Nigeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.2.7 Summary of Scoring for Case Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
6.1 Interpretation of Assessment Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6.2 Model Application and Use of the Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
6.3 Recommendations and Refinement of the Framework. . . . . . . . . 90
Appendices.... .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 93
References.... .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 133
About the Author
David Lindgren is passionate about inclusive and sustainable growth in the
researchandinnovationeconomy,andhisresearchinterestsincludeexploringissues
of inequality and international political economy and their intersection with space,
science, and technology. David has extensive policy and subject knowledge, and
combines this with his project management, business development, and communi-
cations expertise to generate impact and achieve results. He works currently in
research administration, where he collaborates closely with faculty and doctoral
students throughout the project development process from idea to submission to
implementation.Previously,DavidwasbasedinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica,where
heimplementeddemocracyandhumanrightsprograms.Priortothis,heworkedin
Washington, DC supporting programs across Central, West, and Southern Africa.
DavidgraduatedfromAmericanUniversity’sSchoolofInternationalServicewitha
B.A.inInternationalStudies,andgraduatedwithanM.Phil.inSpaceStudiesfrom
theUniversity ofCapeTown. Email:[email protected]
ix