The Chinese People's Liberation Army and Space Warfare

Space warfare will be an integrated part of battle planning by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in any future conflict with the United States. The People's Liberation Army has carefully absorbed and is reacting to what the American armed forces have published on space warfare and counter-space operations. Chinese strategists and legal scholars are engaged in an internal debate on how traditional ideas of sovereignty and the laws of war apply in space. One authoritative volume explored the importance of ensuring that the People's Liberation Army sets out legal justifications for military actions in advance of any conflict. Chinese scholars believe that many of the concepts surrounding the conduct of war on the “common seas” apply in space. Also, there is disagreement between the United States and China on the American position on outer space. The United States treats “peaceful uses” to mean “non-aggressive,” whereas the Chinese interpretation is that to be peaceful uses, it must be “non-military.”     

North and South Korean Space Development: Prospects for Cooperation and Conflict

North and South Korea both have developed rocket technology for military and civilian applications, but their space programs differ in many important aspects. As late developing space powers, neither country poses a serious direct threat to U.S. space assets, but a successful U.S. cooperative engagement strategy towards the Koreas could help achieve U.S. policy objectives. The domestic politics of the two Koreas are very different, and Korean space development will depend upon a number of variables including inter-Korean relations and whether the two Koreas unify, domestic politics and budget constraints, the overall strategic environment, as well as opportunities for Korea in the realm of international space cooperation. The United States has opportunities to implement an engagement strategy in Korea, but it could be complicated by different U.S. objectives in North and South Korea, and by linkage to other issues. Despite the complexities, Washington should be prepared for a number of possibilities.     

Shaping the Scope of Conflict in Scotland’s Fracking Debate: Conflict Management and the Narrative Policy Framework

This study applies a narrative lens to policy actors’ discursive strategies in the Scottish debate over fracking. Based on a sample of 226 newspaper articles (2011–2017) and drawing on key elements of the narrative policy framework (NPF), the research examines how policy coalitions have characterized their supporters, their opponents, and the main regulator (Scottish government). It also explores how actors have sought to expand or contain the scope of conflict to favor their policy objectives. Empirically, only the government strives for conflict containment, whereas both pro‐ and anti‐fracking groups prioritize conflict expansion through characterization contests and the diffusion and concentration of the costs/risks and benefits of fracking. In theoretical terms, the study proposes that Sarah Pralle’s conflict management model, which emphasizes symmetrical strategies of conflict expansion by both coalitions, is a potential tool to revise extant NPF expectations about the different narrative strategies of winning and losing coalitions. Moreover, the fact that policy actors mostly employ negatively rather than positively framed characters in their narratives may be a valid expectation for similar policy conflicts, particularly under conditions of regulatory uncertainty.     

Space Technology Applications for Maritime Intelligence,Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

ABSTRACT

Outer space, as the ultimate high ground, offers potential for contributing towards maritime domain awareness, which is dependent on Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR). This research discusses several utilizations and limitations of space technologies in the realm of maritime ISR through use of electronic intelligence, and electro-optical and radar imagery payload sensors. Technological and financial options for nascent and smaller space powers through dual-purpose commercial and civilian space technologies towards sea surveillance are elaborated as well. Finally, from an operational perspective of ISR, the methodology of frame-by-frame mosaicking of satellite images utilizing commercial remote sensing satellites towards space-based maritime ISR is explained using hypothetical scenarios.     

Highway to the Danger Zone: United States Legislative Framework Regulating the Commercial Space Sector

The last decade has been witness to a rapid rise of the commercial space sectors of many countries. This development offers myriad prospects for the development and exploration of outer space, but simultaneously poses threats to the international community if not regulated properly. The potential dangers of outer space activity were recognized by both the United States and the former Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War, which led to the concretization of the international legal regime regulating outer space activities. However, without the enforcement of these legal standards at the municipal level of the state, this regime is ineffective. Therefore, it is an imperative that all states with a commercial space presence develop national space legislation that appropriately incorporates international standards. The U.S. space legislation is, at present, the most robust legal framework which addresses many of the necessary concerns. At the same time, in attempts to promote the growth of its space sector, the U.S. regime regulating commercial space ignores some of the standards developed in the international regime. The critical evaluation of the salient features of the U.S. legislation undertaken by this article serves as a guide for many states seeking to develop their own legislation regulating the commercial space industry. It serves as a guide to adopting comprehensive standards of protections provided for in the U.S. legislation and the International Law Association’s “Model Law on National Space Legislation,” but also cautions against the dangers of weaponization, poor environmental protection, and exposure to international liability. A thorough legislative framework that adequately balances economic, strategic, and political concerns with accepted legal principles of international law is essential to prevent commercial space activities from becoming a “highway to the danger zone.”     

Chartering Territories in Outer Space: Obligating the Need for a National Legal Framework in India

Space research is heralded as the harbinger of the next level of advancement in science and technology. The fact that countries are spending millions of dollars in this regard is testament to its potential. India is making inroads in the field and, in the last 15 years, has established itself as a dominant player. According to Antrix, the commercial wing of the Indian Space Research Organization, India commercially launched 209 foreign satellites of other countries into space. Apart from this, Antrix is applying its success in other commercial activities, like remote sensing, selling of space objects (parts of satellites and launching vehicles), and mission support. In keeping with this development, the Indian legal position and policy framework with respect to commercial space activities are reviewed. The article also surveys India’s commitment to international space law and its reflection in national legislation. Finally, the existing policy related to commercial space in India is examined and measures are suggested to create national legislation for the country to deal with issues of commercial space activities.     

预防化解多元治理主体利益冲突的制度架构

多元主体协同治理是当前社会治理实现由共治到善治的应有之义,是实现治理体系和治理能力现代化的重要形式。建立健全一套完整、畅通、高效、无缝隙的预防化解多元治理主体利益冲突的制度体系,才能更有效地推进社会治理由共治实现善治,突破单边权力失灵的困境。当前适合中国实际的预防化解多元治理主体利益冲突的制度体系主要包含灵活的主体参与制度体系、严格的过程监督制度体系及完善的利益保障制度体系三个维度。     

Is Federalism a Political Question? An Application of the Marshallian Framework to Garcia

In Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (1985)the Supreme Court relegated the matter of the wages and hoursof local government employees to the national political processas though the issue were a political question. More importantly,the Court left the determination of whether the issue requirednational political resolution up to Congress. This article appliessome of the writings of John Marshall to the Garcia case inorder to ascertain whether national political resolution ofthe issue was appropriate. Under Marshall's framework, matterswhich involve the enumerated powers of Congress or the impliedpowers of Congress are political issues. However, in contrastto the holding in Garcia, the question of whether a particularissue involves an enumerated or an implied power is a matterappropriate for judicial scrutiny.     

Peace and Conflict: Alternative Strategies of Governance and Conflict Resolution

This article examines the present discourse of conflict resolution and offers an alternative framework for analyzing the generic sources of conflict at the community, state, and interstate levels. In particular, we argue that although peace is a universal value, there are no universally best strategies to achieve it. This, however, does not mean that the path to peace is fundamentally different in every context. We claim that stable democratic political structures in general lead to peace both in the international and the domestic realms. As such, democratization does lead to peace, but the paths to stable democracy are context sensitive. Therefore, the success of efforts aimed at creating long-term peace, both among and within nations, depends on the extent to which, democratization incorporates the norms and values of the societies in question. The article begins with a brief overview of some of the problems associated with defining peace. We suggest that peace should be looked at as a universal value, as democracy has been in the recent past. We provide a more detailed theoretical assessment of the linkage between democracy and peace. Our general argument is illustrated in the South Asian, specifically the Indian, context.     

Assessing Public Procurement of Innovation as a Cross‐Domain Policy: A Framework and Application to the Chinese Context

Despite the fact that public procurement of innovation (PPI) has become an increasingly popular policy tool, there has been a lack of holistic approaches to assessing policies promoting PPI. This article attempts to address this gap by proposing a framework which links the multiple levels and aspects related to the design and implementation of PPI policies. By adopting a systemic understanding of “public procurement” as well as “innovation policies,” this article positions PPI as a cross‐domain policy which is inherently a mix of procurement and innovation‐related interventions. The article develops an assessment framework using “vertical coherence” and “horizontal coherence” as criteria. It then illustrates the use of the framework by applying it to PPI policies in China. The framework can aid the conduct of ex ante as well as ex post assessment of PPI policies, which can further inform policy design, implementation, and learning.     

How to Manage a Party Brand: Empirical Perspectives on Electoral Probability and Internal Conflict

What happens when political party branding is modeled according to the preferences of either voters or party members? Employing the concept of brand identity and the analytical GAP model, this empirical study details the consequences of brand management decisions by political parties using the example of the two biggest parties in Germany. Strategic branding decisions have an impact not only on voting probabilities but also on their internal conflict potential, such as when a branding decision conflicts with the internal image a party maintains among its members. It thus can be highly beneficial for a political party to encourage its members to communicate their image of the party to other voters.     

Weapons in Space: The Need to Protect Space Assets

Space assets represent the most critical undefended resource of the United States. Though the government has clearly been aware of this weakness for over a generation, little appears to have been done about it. Every day these assets become more critical, and the threats against them are growing in kind. The United States must address these threats in order to prevent potential future issues in regard to military command and control, as well as the American way of life. This article not only outlines threats to space assets but proposes means by which U.S. space assets could be protected. Such protection comes not only from technology, which has been capable for years of doing the job, but from policy choice as well. In regard to policy, increasing research and development for space-based weapons, reevaluating existing treaties, and increasing interagency cooperation are all needed to better protect U.S. space assets.     

Development of Local Government Debt Financing Markets: Application of a Market‐Based Framework

Needed is clear guidance on how to develop market‐based debt financing systems in transitional and developing countries. We propose an analytical framework useful for identifying constraints to financial development and providing recommendations to overcome constraints to develop municipal financing capacity. The proposed framework is applied to five country case studies: Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, and South Africa. The thesis of this paper is that municipal credit market development is related to improvements in the legal/regulatory framework governing local borrowing, the capacity of financial institutions to assess risk, and borrower capacity to support and manage debt.     

Space Debris Mitigation and Prevention: How to Build a Stronger International Regime

The international regime of space activities could be significantly strengthened by a universal adoption of space debris mitigation guidelines and by a legal recognition of the existence of space debris. The distinction between spacecraft of value and debris of no value is highly important. Also the practice of registering space objects with the United Nations should be strengthened by making the register complete and up to date. If a correlation is established between space objects, registered by the UN, space radio stations, and the International Telecommunication Union, then the problem of so called paper satellites would be better understood and possibly alleviated.