Diplomacy: The Missing Ingredient in Space Security (SWP 67)

A disturbing trend in the contemporary approaches of states to space security has been the decline in diplomacy and the consideration of diplomatic options to achieve national security goals. The official characterization of outer space as "congested, competitive and contested" has ignored the legacy and potential for "cooperation" in this unique if vulnerable realm. The authority of the foundational Outer Space Treaty of 1967, with its stipulation that space is to be used for "peaceful purposes", is being eroded by neglect and unilateral assertions that space is a domain for "war-fighting". The champions of space peace will have to become as active as the exponents of space war if a benign environment for space operations is to be preserved for future generations.