Security in the Global Commons and Beyond

The concept of Global Commons refers to areas or resources outside the control of any particular nation state (UNEP), but on which many may depend or at least benefit. The existence of such spaces can be enormously favourable for trade, communication, governance and, in short, the functioning and stability of the international order. In view of the successive definitions of the concept of Global Common, there is clearly no reason not to consider the South China Sea as such. It is so not only because of the “High Sea” nature of much of the area, but also because of its value in terms of the biosphere and the physiosphere. It is therefore not surprising that since 1945 the South China Sea has been considered a Global Common without question. However, over time, China’s rise, its growing interests in the area and its increasing competition with other regional and extra-regional players would eventually alter this situation. The conflict in the South China Sea is therefore a conflict with many sides as, far from being merely a territorial conflict, it is also a fishing and energy conflict and, perhaps most important of all and, as we pointed out earlier, a geostrategic conflict. So far, all avenues for resolving the conflict, both jurisdictional and negotiated, have proved unsuccessful. Thus, we see how the tyranny of the commons continues in the area we are dealing with, as competition for resources continues to reach levels that make sustainable use of them impossible. In this regard, we are witnessing a rapid deterioration of the area’s coral reefs and an increasingly serious risk of military escalation with consequences that are difficult to measure and anticipate. As a result, and since it is increasingly urgent to find a solution to the problem, we believe that perhaps the best option, which has not been sufficiently considered until now, is to return to the consideration and management of the area as a global common, making it possible for all states with claims on the area to manage and exploit it jointly. However, it should be borne in mind that the main challenge to be overcome in order to enforce this solution is China’s own position and its wish to consolidate its exclusive control over the area.

The steady reduction of the Arctic ice, owing to complex phenomena usually summarised as global warming, is opening large tracts of land, but especially of ocean waters, to exploitation. This suggests new possibilities, such as fisheries, mining, oil extraction, scientific research, and many others, of which the new routes of navigation are in the first place a necessary component of all these new exploitations, and also by themselves seem to offer a promise to shorten traditional routes. Here we examine the prospects offered by this hitherto nearly unknown area, and the difficulties posed by its desolation, the harsh climate, and the limited support, even absence of it, for accurate position, navigation and timing, for modern communications, aids to navigation, and other safety elements.

Global warming and climate change are causing a progressive reduction in the extent of Arctic ice, altering living conditions and significantly increasing access to resources banned to humans so far. This has caught the attention of great powers and a critical race has begun to try to extend their influence in this region, where control of sea routes and exploitation of mineral and living resources will lead to unexpected international relations. China, Russia, and the United States are developing strategies to achieve a preeminent position in this region, considering the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average and holds approximately 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil—about 13% of global estimates—and 30% of the Earth’s undiscovered natural gas reserves.

The increasing demand for minerals and metals by society, together with the depletion of land resources, has generated a peaked interest in marine mineral exploitation. For a global commons such as the oceans, the International Seabed Authority is mandated under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to organize, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Under the auspices of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), projects exploring seabed mineral resources in the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, named ‘the Area’, began in 2001. From then to the present, more and more countries have become involved in such projects. The interest in seabed exploration lies in the extraction of Ni–Cu–Mn from polymetallic nodules, Co–Ni–Mn from ferromanganese crusts, and Cu–Zn–Au–Ag from polymetallic sulphides. Research developed in the last ten years has additionally demonstrated the existence of rare metals and rare earths as possible by-products of the extraction of the main metals of interest. The future exploitation of these metals has implications related to industrial and high-technology purposes, and is also closely linked to the development of renewable energies that enable us to face climate change, secure energy supplies, and promote sustainability and economic competitiveness. Currently, the Legal and Technical Commission of the ISA is finalizing the Regulations for the Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area, which will mark the starting signal of deep-sea mining.

Space, also known as outer space, has become an essential element for the development of Humanity. Indeed, the peaceful use of space for all kinds of activities provides many new possibilities for human progress. 63 years have passed since the first artificial satellite of our planet, Sputnik, was put in orbit on October 14, 1957, and in that time great progress has been made in the conquest of space. Nevertheless, Yuri Gagarin was not in orbit until April 12, 1961. Eight years later, on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 expedition landed on the Moon. Since then, the number of artifacts that populate space has been rapidly increased and space junk multiplied. A new stage in the conquest of space began when Salyut 1 space station was put in orbit on April 19, 1971. But there are many other subjects worthwhile to consider when speaking about outer space and the future of Humanity, among them the new race to explore the Moon and beyond, outer space and defense, and nations and space. This paper pretends to help a better appreciation of the importance that outer space has and will have for a peaceful and progressive future of Humanity. Furthermore, it is possible to find in this essay some of the most important initiatives that international organizations and some nations are implementing concerning outer space.

The advance of non-state actors in outer space and the unilateral declarations and events of the leading space powers reveal an undeniable change in outer space's political and strategic status quo. This phenomenon should lead to changes in the standard configuration that the International Community has been giving until now to outer space as a global common. This contribution analyzes the mentioned legal regime and main recent milestones that lead to thinking about its manifest disuse to point out a series of ethical considerations. These considerations are fundamentally based on classical authors who are recognized fully valid, from whose attribution, a global rethinking of the great powers’ spatial policies and strategies would have to be derived, benefitting humanity’s security as a whole.

Cyber is an operational domain of conflict joining sea and air as other domains in which conflict may occur. Cyber defence is part of collective defence. Most crises and conflicts today have a cyber dimension, so treating cyber as an operational domain will enable to better protect one's missions and operations. Cybersecurity is a priority in the field of International Relations, as cyber espionage can harm any global economy and hacking attacks are the modern way of committing espionage. Countries are increasingly militarizing the cyberspace where there is an ongoing confrontation between states: such confrontation is a mirror image of the ongoing international tensions. On the subject of law, countries should develop internationally agreed definitions of key terminology in the cyberspace in order to determine what constitutes an act of cyber warfare. A further concept to be considered is cyber resilience. Organizations should understand the impact of a potential cyberattack and the steps required to prevent, survive, and recover from such an attack. In short, the cyber world, rapidly growing and increasingly sophisticated, constitutes a new sphere and implies a new type of relationship in international relations which need a “cyber policy” space, the most recent and most important area of interest in the theoretical and practical field.

In recent years, scholars have been increasingly concerned by the attempted manipulation associated with false information in traditional mass media and the Internet (one of the emergent Global Commons). In fact, a new terminology has become popular, like the increasing use of the term “Fake News”. These attempts of manipulation have been associated with state actors who might want to intervene in different political systems, such as the Russian, Iranian or Chinese. We propose the comparison of the coverage of traditional media outlets with those non-democratic State-Sponsored media. In particular, RT (Russia), RTVE and La Sexta Television (Spain), in their YouTube channels and websites. Since the beginning of this century, media and conflict research has brought five generic and recurring frames in every armed confrontation: conflict, humanitarian consequences, responsibility, economy and morality. However, the security frame has been very present in the news coverage of wars, especially since the beginning of the so-called war on terror that arose after the 9/11 attacks. Our hypothesis is formulated as follows: the frames portrayed by the non-democratic state-sponsored media are different to the traditional media. The one of the most important conflicts after the Arab Spring: the Libyan war.

Foreign cyber interference in electoral processes is on the rise. While this phenomenon in is not new, cyber interference in particular has gained a considerable international attention, especially with the surge of allegations on a Russian interference in the 2016 United States (US) elections. However, the unanimous political condemnation of foreign interference in elections was not paralleled with a unanimous agreement on their legality under international law or lack of. This chapter analyzes the legality of remote cyber interference in foreign elections focusing on three central principles of international law: State sovereignty, the principle of non-intervention and the right to self-determination of peoples.

The conflict between Arabs and Israelis has many points of friction, but doubtless the most complicated to solve is Jerusalem in general, and the Old City in particular. While it is difficult to see East Jerusalem returned to Palestinian hands, the solution to this complicated issue may come from rethinking the status of the Old City. The Old City is a walled territory of 0.9 Km² where the most sacred places for the three monotheistic religions meet. While it is true that many initiatives (partition plan, Olmert, Clinton Parameters) have tried to prevent either party from being the guardian of Holy Places, none of these initiatives have succeeded in finding a way to do that. The key to achieve an agreement between Arabs and Israelis on the issue of Jerusalem is not to declare the Old City as an international zone but to declare it as a global, international and supranational resource. In other words, that the Old City should be consider a Global Common with no possibility of being dominated and or exploited by any state. Only through this way territorial claims on the Old City will be avoided and thus an insurmountable point for any peace plan for the Middle East will eliminate.

This chapter discusses the added value of personal data in the context of international security by analyzing the opportunities offered by the so-called new black gold in the age of digitalization: personal data. Personal data create economic and social value at an increasing pace, and personal information is used today in many different situations for numerous purposes. Inevitably, international security is not an exception. This chapter is divided into three sections: (1) it starts with a short overview of commercial aviation’s relevance in the global economy and the indissoluble link between civil aviation and international security. (2) The second block analyses the legal framework regulating the processing of personal data in the European Union (EU), in particular, the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679). The essentials elements of the fundamental right to the protection of personal data will be studied. (3) The chapter ends by covering the opportunities provided by these intangible assets when moving across flows that come from sensors or machines, mainly with the increasing use of technologies such as Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT), widely used in the field of air safety. The speed with which our information is collected and processed, however, raises fundamental questions about privacy, ownership of data, and human rights.

Given the importance of the economic aspect of human trafficking, this chapter focuses on the financial investigation of this serious crime. It is a key to understand the financial dimension of these criminal activities, largely overlooked in the Spanish legal system.

One of the main challenges that humanity faces is to meet the growing demand of food linked to the rapid increase in global population in a secure way. As human population rises, overfishing, water stress related mainly to agriculture, livestock and industry, together with marine pollution and global warming are dangerously reducing marine biodiversity and natural resources. In this challenging landscape, ensuring food security by finding a sustainable and high-quality food source has become a priority. In this sense, fish should be considered as a preferred food, being an important source of digestible proteins, beneficial fatty acids and vitamins, with a low content of saturated fats. However, overfishing of wild populations, together with marine pollution, have been linked to a significant biodiversity loss and have contributed to a downward trajectory in wild caught fishing. Within this framework, a great opportunity arises for an efficient productive sector: aquaculture. Aquaculture provides a great opportunity to fight global hunger, as it is the food sector and one of the productive sectors experiencing the fastest growth, which currently supplies more than half of the fish consumed worldwide. Aquaculture is considered a sustainable alternative, since it allows the efficient use of natural resources, guaranteeing food hygiene, security and promoting economic growth, with a minimal environmental impact.

In this study, the serious global phenomena of violent and antisocial behavior in school are addressed, mainly those happening among students or between students and teachers. School should be an environment in which everyone coexists and gets along with each other; however, occasionally this interpersonal harmony is disrupted and the educational process becomes an impossible task. Given how difficult it is to fully analyze the complex phenomenon of school violence and antisocial behavior, we approach the problems of coexistence in school in order to better know the reality and, at the same time, to study the path that may lead us to its solution. In summary, some of the most frequent types of school violence and antisocial behavior in school environments are described herein, as well as some of the ways it can be prevented and the most used solutions in other countries, such as discipline, mediation, social competence, etc.