Project Ploughshares is a Canadian peace research institute with a focus on disarmament efforts and international security, specifically in the areas of the arms trade, emerging military and security technologies, nuclear weapons, and outer space security.
Recent Blog Posts
Halifax Policy Lab: Future Defence and Security Challenges
Please join us on Monday, November 25th at the Discovery Centre!
At the breaking point: New report reveals weaknesses in outer space security
November 11, 2019Space activity is flourishing. In 2018, 71 countries owned satellites. Seventy-two national space agencies spent a combined $70 billion. Eleven new agencies were created or announced. Some of the 2,062 active satellites saved 2,700 lives. The satellite industry earned $277 billion, while startups secured $3 billion in private investment Key events included: The first launch of demonstration satellites for mega ...
Event: International Humanitarian Law in Action: Putting People First
Protection of Civilians in the Context of Displacement Click on the image or here to download the event flyer. Join us as we explore the role that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) plays in dealing with contemporary challenges to the protection of civilians in the situation of armed conflict. The conference will bring together ...
Event: Launch reception for The Cultural Life of Drones: KW Drone Dialogues
Join us for a free reception celebrating the upcoming Grebel Gallery exhibit, The Cultural Life of Drones: KW Drone Dialogues by Sara Matthews. What does it mean to think of drones as culture? If culture is the range of social practices through which we come to know and engage with the world, then drone cultures might be the myriad ways in ...
Recent Publications
4 key messages on humanitarian advocacy
December 10, 2019The latest Humanitarian Disarmament Forum was held October 19 and 20 in New York City. In attendance were civil-society groups, such as Project Ploughshares, which work on arms control and disarmament concerns that fall under the umbrella of “humanitarian disarmament.” According to the Harvard Law School Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection Initiative, humanitarian disarmament “seeks to prevent and remediate the human and environmental harm inflicted by arms through the establishment and implementation of norms.”
How to keep outer space weapons-free
December 10, 2019The history of arms control in outer space reads like a success story. Outer space is one of the few domains of human activity in which the focus has been on prevention. Although military satellites that provide communications, remote sensing, navigation, and timing services once dominated space and continue to provide essential military services, their operations have long been considered peaceful. Those of us working in space security say that space is “militarized but not weaponized.”
The use of drones by nonstate actors
December 10, 2019In January of this year, armed drones owned by Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group, killed several Yemeni government officials. This was the first time, as far as we know, that a nonstate group had successfully deployed a drone to carry out a precision-targeted operation. In September, the Houthis, with alleged support from Iran, were suspected in the attack on the world’s largest oil-processing facility in Saudi Arabia.
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