Research interests: China United States Aeronautic policy Space policy Science, technology, and industrial policy Export control policy Specialist communities
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2020
Numerous missions planned for the next decade are likely to target a handful of small sites of in... more Numerous missions planned for the next decade are likely to target a handful of small sites of interest on the Moon's surface, creating risks of crowding and interference at these locations. The Moon presents finite and scarce areas with rare topography or concentrations of resources of special value. Locations of interest to science, notably for astronomy, include the Peaks of Eternal Light, the coldest of the cold traps and smooth areas on the far side. Regions richest in physical resources could also be uniquely suited to settlement and commerce. Such sites of interest are both few and small. Typically, there are fewer than ten key sites of each type, each site spanning a few kilometres across. We survey the implications for different kinds of mission and find that the diverse actors pursuing incompatible ends at these sites could soon crowd and interfere with each other, leaving almost all actors worse off. Without proactive measures to prevent these outcomes, lunar actors a...
2020 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm), 2020
This paper reports completed empirical studies of a larger, STEAM-driven endeavor that bridges tw... more This paper reports completed empirical studies of a larger, STEAM-driven endeavor that bridges two continents and several disciplines, highlighting the role of the technical communicator. The research questions revolve around whether, and to what degree, scenario-based ethics training is effective in helping chemists understand the expectations for responsible publication practice in chemistry, as defined by prestigious universities, professional organizations, and reputable journals. We build on previous studies of scenario-based ethics training. We identify possible next steps for research and training in global science ethics. Ultimately, by building empirical and theoretical knowledge about challenges to ethical behavior, we will be able to identify effective instructional methods for culturally-inclusive, validated ethics training.
Several national governments have recently taken substantial steps toward creating policies that ... more Several national governments have recently taken substantial steps toward creating policies that apply to new, path-breaking activities at asteroids in outer space. Near-term activities on asteroids are likely to be various, including mining initiated by private firms and planetary defense activities pursued by public agencies. Current perspectives on making policy toward asteroid activities often presume that the different goals pursued by actors interested in asteroids are mutually supportive and that diverse actors' common focus on asteroids builds momentum for creating an enabling policy environment. In contrast, we argue that the four main categories of asteroid activities envisioned today – scientific research (science), human settlement of other parts of the solar system (settlement), planetary defense (security), and mining (sales) – are best served by policy regimes with distinct features. Different activities require different policy arrangements, which are not straightforwardly compatible. The incompatibilities present policymakers with trade-offs. This paper discusses the four main types of asteroid activities and their related policy needs to highlight these trade-offs and influence debate.
Journal of International Relations and Development, 2018
A growing chorus of observers has warned of threats to regime stability in China in recent years.... more A growing chorus of observers has warned of threats to regime stability in China in recent years. In spite of these concerns, the party-state’s grip on power in many respects appears as strong today as at any time since 1989, making it a remarkable outlier in a shrinking pool of long-surviving authoritarian regimes. This article addresses the debate over the resilience of the Chinese party-state by suggesting that one source of this resilience lies in the regime’s distinct functions in citizens’ experience of ontological security. Ontological security refers to a basic need of individuals for a sense of continuity and order in events. The main argument is that China’s party-state has developed a mode of rule that both compromises and creates ontological security for its citizens. On one level, the party-state undermines individuals’ ontological security. The regime has engineered profound transformations of Chinese society, producing conditions that compromise its subjects’ ontological security. At the same time, the party-state provides individuals with resources to buttress their ontological security. Official discourses function as anchors that assist individuals in this pursuit. A survey of research on Chinese politics supports these conclusions.
Once regarded as an unstoppable giant and stalwart of the global economy, China today shows signs... more Once regarded as an unstoppable giant and stalwart of the global economy, China today shows signs of economic and political fragility. The interrelated risks of an abrupt economic slowdown, a collapse of the financial system, and political instability in China are now apparent, warn international observers. In spite of these risks, or perhaps because of them, Chinese foreign policy is at its most assertive and activist in decades. A China that is bold, but brittle, presents significant new foreign policy challenges for European countries. To navigate these successfully, European states must develop a coherent and proactive strategy in recognition of both circumstances. This article discusses the state of recent international scholarship and controversy on China's domestic political economy and global engagement. The discussion relates a wave of recent attention to Chi-na's mounting domestic economic and political vulnerabilities and points to implications of these developments for China's ambitions to play a leading role in the international system beyond its immediate region.
The Outer Space Treaty makes it clear that the Moon is the 'province of all mankind', with the la... more The Outer Space Treaty makes it clear that the Moon is the 'province of all mankind', with the latter ordinarily understood to exclude state or private appropriation of any portion of its surface. However, there are indeterminacies in the Treaty and in space law generally over the issue of appropriation. These indeterminacies might permit a close approximation to a property claim or some manner of 'quasi-property'. The recently revealed highly inhomogeneous distribution of lunar resources changes the context of these issues. We illustrate this altered situation by considering the Peaks of Eternal Light. They occupy about one square kilometer of the lunar surface. We consider a thought experiment in which a Solar telescope is placed on one of the Peaks of Eternal Light at the lunar South pole for scientific research. Its operation would require non-disturbance, and hence that the Peak remain unvisited by others, effectively establishing a claim of protective exclusion and de facto appropriation. Such a telescope would be relatively easy to emplace with today's technology and so poses a near-term property issue on the Moon. While effective appropriation of a Peak might proceed without raising some of the familiar problems associated with commercial development (especially lunar mining), the possibility of such appropriation nonetheless raises some significant issues concerning justice and the safeguarding of scientific practice on the lunar surface. We consider this issue from scientific, technical, ethical and policy viewpoints. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Prolonged systemic challenges continue to strain and divide China's military aviation industry, e... more Prolonged systemic challenges continue to strain and divide China's military aviation industry, especially over structural consolidation, institutional reorganization, and lack of technological sophistication. Nonetheless, the sector's overall modernization drive is among the most prominent of China's defense industries. During the past decade, China's military aviation industry has been gradually transforming its defense, science, technology, and innovation capabilities and narrowing the once-wide technological gaps with advanced aviation powers. In the fighter aircraft arena alone, it has been modernizing its 'legacy' fighters while developing a diverse portfolio of new indigenous designs, including modern fourth-generation fighters, and preparing to break into the fifth-generation aircraft market. The recent unveiling of China's next-generation fighter aircraft prototypes the J-20 and J-31, along with accelerated modernization of the Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11 fleets, shows not only the increased sophistication of Chinese combat aircraft but also, more importantly, the ongoing transformation of China's military aviation sector.
The international space community has long recognized the potential benefits of servicing and ref... more The international space community has long recognized the potential benefits of servicing and refueling satellites on orbit. However, technological and economic factors have posed obstacles to the servicing of satellites on a commercial basis. This situation may soon change. Several commercial entities could be developing capabilities that will enable cost-efficient in-space servicing and refueling in ways previously thought unfeasible. For example, in the spring of 2011, two commercial space actors, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) and Intelsat, announced plans to develop a commercial servicing vehicle and took steps in this direction. Other commercial players have also announced servicing programs. These companies' plans have the potential to revolutionize the economics of satellite manufacturing and operations and to affect related industries, including space launch and insurance. Commercial servicing capabilities will co-evolve with their policy, legal, and regulato...
The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 2008
But the theories that these and other assumptions generate often remain untested, thus creating s... more But the theories that these and other assumptions generate often remain untested, thus creating situations in which a primarily deductive model of enquiry rests upon an instrumental resort to assumptions that lacks the empirical tests necessary to establish its usefulness. 3 Other ...
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2020
Numerous missions planned for the next decade are likely to target a handful of small sites of in... more Numerous missions planned for the next decade are likely to target a handful of small sites of interest on the Moon's surface, creating risks of crowding and interference at these locations. The Moon presents finite and scarce areas with rare topography or concentrations of resources of special value. Locations of interest to science, notably for astronomy, include the Peaks of Eternal Light, the coldest of the cold traps and smooth areas on the far side. Regions richest in physical resources could also be uniquely suited to settlement and commerce. Such sites of interest are both few and small. Typically, there are fewer than ten key sites of each type, each site spanning a few kilometres across. We survey the implications for different kinds of mission and find that the diverse actors pursuing incompatible ends at these sites could soon crowd and interfere with each other, leaving almost all actors worse off. Without proactive measures to prevent these outcomes, lunar actors a...
2020 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm), 2020
This paper reports completed empirical studies of a larger, STEAM-driven endeavor that bridges tw... more This paper reports completed empirical studies of a larger, STEAM-driven endeavor that bridges two continents and several disciplines, highlighting the role of the technical communicator. The research questions revolve around whether, and to what degree, scenario-based ethics training is effective in helping chemists understand the expectations for responsible publication practice in chemistry, as defined by prestigious universities, professional organizations, and reputable journals. We build on previous studies of scenario-based ethics training. We identify possible next steps for research and training in global science ethics. Ultimately, by building empirical and theoretical knowledge about challenges to ethical behavior, we will be able to identify effective instructional methods for culturally-inclusive, validated ethics training.
Several national governments have recently taken substantial steps toward creating policies that ... more Several national governments have recently taken substantial steps toward creating policies that apply to new, path-breaking activities at asteroids in outer space. Near-term activities on asteroids are likely to be various, including mining initiated by private firms and planetary defense activities pursued by public agencies. Current perspectives on making policy toward asteroid activities often presume that the different goals pursued by actors interested in asteroids are mutually supportive and that diverse actors' common focus on asteroids builds momentum for creating an enabling policy environment. In contrast, we argue that the four main categories of asteroid activities envisioned today – scientific research (science), human settlement of other parts of the solar system (settlement), planetary defense (security), and mining (sales) – are best served by policy regimes with distinct features. Different activities require different policy arrangements, which are not straightforwardly compatible. The incompatibilities present policymakers with trade-offs. This paper discusses the four main types of asteroid activities and their related policy needs to highlight these trade-offs and influence debate.
Journal of International Relations and Development, 2018
A growing chorus of observers has warned of threats to regime stability in China in recent years.... more A growing chorus of observers has warned of threats to regime stability in China in recent years. In spite of these concerns, the party-state’s grip on power in many respects appears as strong today as at any time since 1989, making it a remarkable outlier in a shrinking pool of long-surviving authoritarian regimes. This article addresses the debate over the resilience of the Chinese party-state by suggesting that one source of this resilience lies in the regime’s distinct functions in citizens’ experience of ontological security. Ontological security refers to a basic need of individuals for a sense of continuity and order in events. The main argument is that China’s party-state has developed a mode of rule that both compromises and creates ontological security for its citizens. On one level, the party-state undermines individuals’ ontological security. The regime has engineered profound transformations of Chinese society, producing conditions that compromise its subjects’ ontological security. At the same time, the party-state provides individuals with resources to buttress their ontological security. Official discourses function as anchors that assist individuals in this pursuit. A survey of research on Chinese politics supports these conclusions.
Once regarded as an unstoppable giant and stalwart of the global economy, China today shows signs... more Once regarded as an unstoppable giant and stalwart of the global economy, China today shows signs of economic and political fragility. The interrelated risks of an abrupt economic slowdown, a collapse of the financial system, and political instability in China are now apparent, warn international observers. In spite of these risks, or perhaps because of them, Chinese foreign policy is at its most assertive and activist in decades. A China that is bold, but brittle, presents significant new foreign policy challenges for European countries. To navigate these successfully, European states must develop a coherent and proactive strategy in recognition of both circumstances. This article discusses the state of recent international scholarship and controversy on China's domestic political economy and global engagement. The discussion relates a wave of recent attention to Chi-na's mounting domestic economic and political vulnerabilities and points to implications of these developments for China's ambitions to play a leading role in the international system beyond its immediate region.
The Outer Space Treaty makes it clear that the Moon is the 'province of all mankind', with the la... more The Outer Space Treaty makes it clear that the Moon is the 'province of all mankind', with the latter ordinarily understood to exclude state or private appropriation of any portion of its surface. However, there are indeterminacies in the Treaty and in space law generally over the issue of appropriation. These indeterminacies might permit a close approximation to a property claim or some manner of 'quasi-property'. The recently revealed highly inhomogeneous distribution of lunar resources changes the context of these issues. We illustrate this altered situation by considering the Peaks of Eternal Light. They occupy about one square kilometer of the lunar surface. We consider a thought experiment in which a Solar telescope is placed on one of the Peaks of Eternal Light at the lunar South pole for scientific research. Its operation would require non-disturbance, and hence that the Peak remain unvisited by others, effectively establishing a claim of protective exclusion and de facto appropriation. Such a telescope would be relatively easy to emplace with today's technology and so poses a near-term property issue on the Moon. While effective appropriation of a Peak might proceed without raising some of the familiar problems associated with commercial development (especially lunar mining), the possibility of such appropriation nonetheless raises some significant issues concerning justice and the safeguarding of scientific practice on the lunar surface. We consider this issue from scientific, technical, ethical and policy viewpoints. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Prolonged systemic challenges continue to strain and divide China's military aviation industry, e... more Prolonged systemic challenges continue to strain and divide China's military aviation industry, especially over structural consolidation, institutional reorganization, and lack of technological sophistication. Nonetheless, the sector's overall modernization drive is among the most prominent of China's defense industries. During the past decade, China's military aviation industry has been gradually transforming its defense, science, technology, and innovation capabilities and narrowing the once-wide technological gaps with advanced aviation powers. In the fighter aircraft arena alone, it has been modernizing its 'legacy' fighters while developing a diverse portfolio of new indigenous designs, including modern fourth-generation fighters, and preparing to break into the fifth-generation aircraft market. The recent unveiling of China's next-generation fighter aircraft prototypes the J-20 and J-31, along with accelerated modernization of the Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11 fleets, shows not only the increased sophistication of Chinese combat aircraft but also, more importantly, the ongoing transformation of China's military aviation sector.
The international space community has long recognized the potential benefits of servicing and ref... more The international space community has long recognized the potential benefits of servicing and refueling satellites on orbit. However, technological and economic factors have posed obstacles to the servicing of satellites on a commercial basis. This situation may soon change. Several commercial entities could be developing capabilities that will enable cost-efficient in-space servicing and refueling in ways previously thought unfeasible. For example, in the spring of 2011, two commercial space actors, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) and Intelsat, announced plans to develop a commercial servicing vehicle and took steps in this direction. Other commercial players have also announced servicing programs. These companies' plans have the potential to revolutionize the economics of satellite manufacturing and operations and to affect related industries, including space launch and insurance. Commercial servicing capabilities will co-evolve with their policy, legal, and regulato...
The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 2008
But the theories that these and other assumptions generate often remain untested, thus creating s... more But the theories that these and other assumptions generate often remain untested, thus creating situations in which a primarily deductive model of enquiry rests upon an instrumental resort to assumptions that lacks the empirical tests necessary to establish its usefulness. 3 Other ...
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