Who Governs Outer Space? Law and Power — Adam Bower

5. 12. 2024

This episode of The IR thinker explores how outer space is becoming a key arena of international politics and law, in conversation with Dr Adam Bower. We discuss the difficulties of even defining where “outer space” begins, the limits and possibilities of existing treaties, and the growing challenge of regulating increasingly powerful private actors alongside states. The interview examines NATO’s arrangements for satellite coverage, the role of multilateral forums in setting norms, and how a more multipolar international order shapes competing visions of space governance. Particular attention is given to the contrasting approaches of the United States, Russia and China, and to whether voluntary norms can realistically restrain escalation and weaponisation in space.

Adam Bower

Dr Adam Bower is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He was the founding co director of the Centre for Global Law and Governance, sits on the steering committee of the Institute for Legal and Constitutional Research, and is a member of the St Andrews Centre for Exoplanet Science. A Fellow of the Outer Space Institute and part of the management team of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs, his research focuses on the development of international norms and their capacity to constrain armed violence, including in emerging domains such as outer space.

Publications:

Contesting the heavens: US antipreneurship and the regulation of space weapons

Global constitutionalism and outer space governance

Orbital uncertainty and the governance of outer space activities

Norms without the great powers: International law and changing social standards in world politics

Content

00:00 - Introduction
01:51 - Defining ‘Outer Space’: Is There a Global Consensus?
11:53 - International Treaties and the Geopolitics of Space Governance
23:00 - Regulating Private Actors in Space Exploration
28:37 - NATO Satellites: Coverage Under Collective Agreements
37:08 - Multilateral Forums in Space Governance
43:30 - Multipolar World Order and Its Vision for Space Governance
49:44 - US Antipreneurship vs. Russia and China: Contrasting Approaches
55:50 - Future Outlook: Voluntary Norms in Space Governance