As nations increasingly develop and deploy dual-use space systems — those capable of serving both civilian and military objectives — the international community may consider governance mechanisms to address their potential risks, including miscalculation and escalation in space. This report marks the first phase of a three-year project aimed at assessing those risks and offering policy recommendations to the United States and its allies on the development and enforcement of a global governance regime. In this report, the authors present the findings of a literature review in which they examined the landscape of national approaches to dual-use space systems across select countries in the Americas, Europe-Eurasia, and the Indo-Pacific. These include domestic factors (such as policy frameworks, primary government and private actors, and examples of deployed systems), as well as international engagements (such as global partnerships and contributions to norms-based discussions).
These insights, collected in spring 2025, informed subsequent virtual workshops that summer with regional experts and stakeholders and will serve as a foundation for later project phases in 2026 and 2027, which will include in-person workshops and a final report on potential global governance regimes.
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