The Development of International Norms to Enhance Space Security Law in an Asymmetric World

Abstract

This paper examines the role of soft law in the governance of outer space in context of post Cold War asymmetry, It claims that hard legal mechanisms such as treaties were appropriate in a bipolar geopolitical order, in which state interests were close to symmetrical. It then goes on to argue that in the realm of space activities hard law mechanisms will no longer be the dominant paradigm. Instead, in a multipolar world, space activities will be increasingly regulated via soft law mechanisms that can better adapt to increased asymmetry in state interests.