Sovereignty and space governance: Emerging legal and policy issues

The specific dynamics of change in the character of space activities have been caused by technological developments and the expanded activity of the private sector and have dramatically altered the management of outer space. This dissertation outlines the processes of state sovereignty, global commons principles and the private actors involved in the ever-evolving system. International instruments including the Outer Space Treaty (1967) and the Moon Agreement (1979) declared that space is the common preserve of humankind not subject to appropriation, however recent domestic laws including the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 directly invites private mining. The increase in use of space and satellites through militarization and population of satellite constellations underlines the necessity for strong international regulation. This research critically assesses a framework for the coexistence of sovereignty and international cooperation in relation to issues such as resource rights, militarization, and equity on benefits. It also examines the effects of the privatization of space, its relation to the regulation of it and the conflict that might be present over space resources. In view of this legal and policy analysis, this study seeks to support the realization of sustainable models of governance that are conducive with the provision of space as the repository of distinct individual freedoms through which conflict does not necessarily follow.