Unresolved Cold War Issues of Contemporary Outer Space Arms Control Efforts

Abstract

The ineffectiveness of the existing space law treaties has allowed space faring nations to enhance their strategic capability, which has resulted in an increase in militarization and weaponization. Military use of the outer appears to be dominated by power politics, and there are uncertainties surrounding space governance and resources. Neither the established nor the emerging space faring states have actively engaged in arms control negotiations, including "Transparency and Confidence Building Measures (TCBMs)". Inthis article, the argument has been made that during the initial stages of the space race, various spacefaringnations agreed that the environment in outer space should be approached in a different manner; however,issues of military use of space and weaponization were not fully resolved through negations. These issues continue to persist in space law treaties in the form of legal lacuna's. If leftover issues from the Cold War-rivals are not resolved, the militarization of space will continue to increase.