International Co-operation and Control: from Atoms to Space

Abstract

This chapter considers the main forms of international co-operation which have so far been established in the nuclear field and the principal safeguards which have been incorporated in them. It argues that the experience of international co-operation and control in both the military and peaceful uses of nuclear energy can provide valuable lessons in the regulation of the future exploration and exploitation of outer space, where the problems of dual use are likely to be equally complex. The systems of inspection administered by international agencies in the field of nuclear energy, as found in the Statute of IAEA and in the ENEA Security Treaty, if allowed to operate, will provide helpful precedents not only for similar schemes of international cooperation and control in the peaceful uses of outer space but also for any effective plan of general disarmament without which there is no real hope in the effective demilitarization of either nuclear energy or outer space.