Outer Space and Cyber Space: A Tale of Two Security Realms (SWP 51)

The concept of “global commons” has been applied under international law to certain special environments for which states have agreed to prohibit national appropriation and to treat these spaces as “the province of all mankind” (Outer Space Treaty 1967). After tracing the origins of the concept with reference to the law of the sea, the paper examines two relatively new environments, outer space and cyberspace, for which the status of “global commons” can facilitate the emergence of a cooperative security regime. The various diplomatic efforts to develop international security arrangements for these vital, if fragile, environments are reviewed and prospects for their successful adoption assessed.