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All publications from 2011 onwards are currently searchable using the Search Bar above.
Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Please email Ben Skinner for online publication archive requests or if you require access to publications from before 2011.
The UK process on norms and space security
July 6, 2021On December 7, 2020, the United Kingdom-sponsored United Nations Resolution A/RES/75/36 was adopted by the UN General Assembly. Seeking to focus the global discussion on outer space security on ways of “reducing threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviour,” the objective is to build consensus on what it means to be a “responsible” actor in outer space.
Norms, space security, and arms control
June 14, 2021Threats to the security of outer space are growing. More pronouncements that space is a warfighting domain are augmented by periodic accusations of, and demonstrations of, weapons tests. The latest research on global counterspace capabilities reveals an expanding and accelerating proliferation of capabilities that can target and harm objects in space.
The Ploughshares Monitor: Summer 2021
June 7, 2021Volume 42 Issue 2 A quarterly publication of Project Ploughshares Please click on attachment to view document:
Canada’s Commitments to Regulate Firearms
May 20, 2021In September 2019, Canada acceded to the legally binding Arms Trade Treaty, the first international framework to comprehensively control the international trade and transfer of conventional weapons. This positive action ...
The need for Canadian leadership in the drive to regulate high-risk AI
May 13, 2021As various ministries of the federal government, as well as relevant ministries at the provincial level, seek to develop policy and procedures on the use of AI, they will need clear guidance on the risks associated with different AI applications and how they should be regulated. So far, no Canadian agency has taken the lead in providing the guidance needed to plan for high-risk AI use, particularly in security and defence applications.
Consulting Canadians on a framework for future space exploration
April 21, 2021The following response to the Canadian consultation on a framework for future space exploration is submitted by Project Ploughshares, a Canadian peace research institute with a focus on disarmament efforts and international security. Project Ploughshares has been engaged in space security and international policy governance for almost 20 years and leads the Space Security Index project.
The Ploughshares Monitor: Spring 2021
March 25, 2021Volume 42 Issue 1 A quarterly publication of Project Ploughshares Please click on attachment to view document:
Canada and the Artemis Accords
March 17, 2021On October 13, 2020, the Canadian Space Agency, along with civil space agencies from the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Japan, Luxembourg, and the United Arab Emirates signed bilateral agreements with ...
The impact of COVID-19 on refugees
March 16, 2021COVID-19 has exposed global vulnerabilities and inequalities. But the plight of refugees has not received its due. When the pandemic hit, the vast majority of refugees found themselves in countries ...
The Safe Third Country Agreement in 2021
March 11, 2021New U.S. President Joe Biden has used Executive Orders to overturn the most extreme immigration policies of the Trump era. But deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are ongoing and immigration detention centres are still in operation. The United States does NOT meet the principles of safety required by Canadian and international law.
From safety to security: mapping the normative landscape in outer space
March 10, 2021This map is a visualization of the existing normative landscape in outer space. Created from detailed coding of 90 space governance documents and additional expert feedback from an online survey and global series of workshops, it identifies the prevailing values, documented activities, and prescribed behaviours that currently influence practices in space.
From Safety to Security: Global Workshop Series Report
February 1, 2021In November 2020, global space experts were invited to participate in a series of regional online workshops to identify priorities and possible next steps in the development of norms related to space-based military capabilities and activities.
Five things to know about the nuclear ban treaty
January 21, 2021Formally known as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the nuclear ban treaty is a legally binding multilateral instrument that establishes an explicit prohibition of nuclear weapons, as a step to achieving their complete elimination. It was adopted by 122 states on July 7, 2017, at United Nations headquarters in New York.
The risks of hypersonic weapons
December 3, 2020More states are investing in hypersonic weapons capabilities. These weapons have the potential to travel faster and farther than current intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), with the added benefit of increased manoeuverability. While not all hype around hypersonic missiles is justified, the pursuit of such capabilities is changing the defence landscape and raising concerns about the future of nonproliferation and arms-control regimes.
The Ploughshares Monitor: Winter 2020
November 26, 2020Volume 41 Issue 4 A quarterly publication of Project Ploughshares Please click on attachment to view document:
Canada remains silent on illegal Canadian weapons in Libya
November 25, 2020On October 5, under mounting pressure from civil society and the Armenian diaspora community, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) suspended exports of Canadian-made L3Harris WESCAM surveillance and targeting sensors to Turkey. These sensors had been found on Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) that were illicitly diverted to Azerbaijan by ally Turkey for use in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.