Space Power Interests by Peter Hayes

Author:Peter Hayes [Hayes, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781000312836
Google: 3U2fDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-06-26T13:59:22+00:00

7

Exchanging Environmental Resource Management for Peaceful Space Practices: Blue Sky or “Blue Sky”?

Molly Macauley

Concern about defense management (particularly nuclear proliferation) has long figured prominently in international relations involving countries in the Middle East and South and East Asia, and more recently, with nations in Central and East Europe. Meanwhile, concern about the environment has also increased in international prominence, most recently culminating in the United Nations' Conference on Environment and Development (the "Earth Summit") held in June 1992. In light of these twin concerns, some experts have suggested that useful linkages might be made between environmental and nuclear proliferation issues in structuring the terms of international lending and other assistance policies.1 Indeed, for example, as Central and Eastern Europe attempt a transition to more market-oriented economies, prominent concerns range from the ownership and management of defense weapons and their possible conversion to civilian applications (production facilities as well as some components, such as launch vehicles) to environmental problems posing substantial health risk. Thus, at first glance, it seems as if linkages between these concerns might be practicable.

In this paper, I generally argue against the feasibility of policies linking the environment and defense, although I do consider one activity, remote sensing, as a possibly promising link between space launch (and other space-based programs) and environmental resource management. I proceed as follows. First, I discuss the difficulty of linking environmental concerns and defense management, essentially because environmental issues among countries where proliferation concerns loom largest are overshadowed by substantial issues of poverty and economic growth. In short, environmental problems receive low priority.

Next, I consider remote sensing as a possible exception to this logic in that it may provide an attractive link between space and environmental activities. The problem of the low priority accorded environmental concerns remains, however. And another problem arises-that of national autonomy in access to remote sensing technology.

In part three, I first discuss some of the theoretical concepts that have been developed (primarily in the economics, political science, and game theory literature) for linked compensation, and then consider these concepts in the context of proliferation and environment. The presumption underlying this discussion is that when and if environmental concerns become elevated among national priorities (that is, when the concerns expressed in section II are alleviated), then a fuller context for considering linked compensation will be useful for forming policy.

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