Developing safety-zone rules: Based on an institutional choice framework

Abstract

Under Section 11 of the Artemis Accords, signatories propose the establishment of safety zones to prevent harmful interference and emphasise the imperative to develop relevant rules in the future. However, existing research fails to shed light on whether the chosen institutions by signatories are suitable for addressing safety-zone issues and which institutions should be developed to tackle future safety-zone concerns. Current theories, such as institutional design theory, do not comprehensively summarise the various types of institutions and strategies for their selection. Therefore, this paper presents an institutional choice framework to address these research gaps. Within this research framework, establishing international institutions is perceived as a selection process among different types of institutions. Drawing from previous studies, the framework outlines sixteen distinct institution types, six crucial features of institutions, and three strategies for selecting suitable institutions. After proposing the framework, this study employs it to analyse existing safety-zone rules, identify the optimal institution of safety zones, and devise strategies for making institutional choices. The contribution of this study lies in advancing institutional design theory and facilitating research on safety-zone rules while providing insights for constructing international institutions in other domains.