Introduction: cooperation, conflict, and interaction in the global commons

Abstract

The Global Commons – the High Seas, Antarctica, the Atmosphere, and Outer Space – are resource domains outside the authority of states. Historically, the Global Commons have been practically inaccessible and thus rarely subject to sovereignty claims and international regulations. With technological advances and environmental developments, the Global Commons have become a key site for international relations (hereinafter IR). In spite of often competing claims from state and non-state actors to these areas, the Global Commons have remained mainly cooperative. This is not what one would expect from most IR perspectives in a close to anarchical environment and a volatile geopolitical international environment. This Special Issue sets out to address this puzzle by asking: To what extent and why is there little conflict in the Global Commons? For this purpose, this introduction develops a common framework that distinguishes between three models and corresponding hypotheses of the factors affecting the level of cooperation and conflict in these domains. While two are based on realist and liberal IR perspectives, we draw on constructivism, political theory, and law to develop a third model, called the Human Heritage model. To conclude, this introduction also sums up the findings and discusses their implications for the Global Commons and IR studies.

Outer Space as a Global Commons: An Empirical Study of Space Arrangements

“…John Vogler rightly points out that all "global commons" are "social constructs that overlay, interpret, and allocate 'brute' physical facts" (Vogler, 2012, p. 61). From this perspective, the commons analogy can be productive analytically and provide a much-needed basis for international cooperation (Riddervold & Newsome, 2021). Social scientists, however, must keep in mind that it is a social construct.…”

The European Union’s Space Diplomacy: Contributing to Peaceful Co-operation?

“…Thanks also to the participants at the Special Issue workshop, and to Albert Didriksen for research assistance. 2 Cross 2021a, 2021b; Cross and Pekkanen 2023;Riddervold and Newsome 2021. 3 Garcia 2021.…”

Remote control? Chinese satellite infrastructure in and above the Arctic global commons

“…Yet China is notable in its interest in extending its models of sovereignty and territoriality to the global commons, especially in areas where regulations are underdeveloped, such as cyberspace. Although the Arctic has numerous regional institutions and agreements (however jeopardised by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ‘pause’ in March 2022 on Arctic Council activities), areas where the region intersects with cyberspace or outer space may be more pliable and offer opportunities for China to establish governance norms (Riddervold & Newsome, 2021).…”