A cosmopolitan approach to international law (CAIL) reflection on the space development experience of Africa

Abstract

Space power theory from the realist school states that the proliferation of space technology is a foe rather than a friend because it contributes to military and economic competition; and, above all, it empowers the exercise of threat of force in, through and from Outer Space. It is thus important to examine questions of justice in one's professional field and locate the analysis of one's practice within wider social, economic, and political context. While law is not justice and simply announces the form of justice sought, the approach taken in this paper is more precisely the lived experience or mental processes of consciousness and its aim begins a conversation to investigate this in a rigorous way. The cognitive act that characterizes the phenomenological reflection is “paying attention.” Therefore, this reflection contemplates the relevance of experience and reflective practice as a valuable methodology for using insights and learning from the past to support the assessment of the present and recommendations for the future. This is applied in the case of over 17 years of personal experience in following the development path of African space programs. The paper concludes that the African case confirms that multi-level governance is an approach that is of importance, and Africa is in a unique position to master this as stakeholders must think about how to engage in space development at all 4 levels: the global, regional, national, and local level.