Too much medicine is bad for us. So is too much public surveillance, even when it is supposed to protect us from harm. Certainly, surveillance and detection of a disease are critical to its containment. Disease must be tracked and then containment measures such as physical distancing and quarantine must be monitored and enforced. In the face of the current …
The number of threats to the security of outer space is growing. Reports on global counter-space capabilities released at the end of March by the Secure World Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies indicate that the range of capabilities that can interfere with and even destroy satellites is increasing, as is covert on-orbit activity. New initiatives such as the U.S. Space …
Addressing the world on March 23, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global ceasefire in response to the deadly spread of COVID-19. Noting that it “attacks all, relentlessly” but inflicts the most harm on the most vulnerable, he asserted that we must “put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.” While the …
The world has entered a Second Space Age, marked by an intensification of our interactions and reach into outer space. A core part of the international Space Security Index project, managed by Project Ploughshares, is to look holistically at how states, companies, and people around the world access and make use of this domain. Looking to the year ahead, five …
On Monday, U.S. President Trump was due to sign Space Policy Directive-3 on space traffic management. This was exciting to those of us who work on space governance, if not to many others. Then Trump announced that he would create a Space Force – a new branch of the U.S. military – and pointed to the chairman of the Joint …
The new U.S. National Security Strategy promises to put America first, raising critical questions about the future of alliances and economic partnerships, as well as about how the international community will handle challenges such as climate change that require concerted cooperation. Perhaps more troubling are the implications for arms control in a strategy that emphasizes “peace through strength.” In particular, …
The annual assessment of the security of outer space released at the United Nations last week warns of mounting stress from a combination of rapid technology change and geopolitical tensions. Space Security Index 2017 tracks developments and activities related to four indicators of the security of outer space – environmental sustainability, access to and use of space, technologies for space …
Two events brought the ‘War on Terror’ to our attention in recent weeks: the attack on Westminster bridge and Parliament in London on March 22, and the ban on large electronics imposed on a selection of airlines flying from several countries in the Middle East and North Africa to the United States and the United Kingdom. Although unrelated, both events …
An underlying current of fear has run through Europe since the attacks on Paris last November. While life returned to normal in France, ‘normal’ was marred by a continuing state of emergency, increased surveillance, stronger policing and detention powers, neighbourhood raids, and an increased presence of police and weaponry. For five days Brussels, Belgium, launch site for the Paris attacks, …
