Vast areas of valuable resources unfettered by legal rights have, for centuries, been the central target of human exploitation and appropriation. The global commons -- Antarctica, the high seas and deep seabed minerals, the atmosphere, and space -- have remained exceptions only because access has been difficult or impossible, and the technology for successful extraction has been lacking. Now, technology has caught up with desire, and management regimes are needed to guide human use of these important resource domains. In The Global Commons, Susan Buck considers the history of human interactions with each of the global commons areas and provides a concise yet thorough account of the evolution of management regimes for each area. She explains historical underpinnings of international law, examines the stakeholders involved, and discusses current policy and problems associated with it. Buck applies key analytical concepts drawn from institutional analysis and regime theory to examine how legal and political concerns have affected the evolution of management regimes for the global commons. She presents in-depth case studies of each of the four regimes, outlining the historical evolution of the commons -- development of interest in exploiting the resource domain; conflicts among nations over the use of the commons; and efforts to design institutions to control access to the domains and to regulate their use -- and concluding with a description of the management regime that eventually emerged from the informal and formal negotiations. The Global Commons provides a clear, useful introduction to the subject that will be of interest to general readers as well as to students in international relations and international environmental law, and in environmental law and policy generally.

This book explores the genesis of the concept of global commons against the backdrop of the global environmental problems of climate change, biodiversity conservation, desertification, and the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes. It highlights blockchains and cryptocurrencies, and their role in transforming global institutions. It delves on the advent of COVID-19 as a global common and the way the pandemic has been handled by the world community. The book also explores the way the current geopolitics of the world is contributing to the resolution of the conservation problem associated with global commons.

This will be the first book to attempt to take a 'holistic' approach to security in the Commons (outer space, the atmosphere, the oceans, cyberspace, etc) in that it examines in detail each domain of the commons, identifying and assessing the current and future threats to free international access to the domain.

This book examines liability for environmental harm in Antarctic, deep seabed, and high seas commons areas, highlighting a unique set of legal questions: Who has standing to claim environmental harms in global commons ecosystems? How should questions of causation and liability be addressed where harm arises from a variety of activities by state and non-state actors? What kinds of harm should be compensable in global commons ecosystems, which are remote and characterized by high levels of scientific uncertainty? How can practical concerns such as ensuring adequate funds for compensation be resolved? This book provides the first in-depth examination and evaluation of current rules and possible avenues for future legal developments in this area of increasing importance for states, international organizations, commercial actors, and legal and governance scholars. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

More than ever, international security and economic prosperity depend upon safe access to the shared domains that make up the global commons: maritime, air, space, and cyberspace. Together these domains serve as essential conduits through which international commerce, communication, and governance prosper. However, the global commons are congested, contested, and competitive. In the January 2012 defense strategic guidance, the United States confirmed its commitment “to continue to lead global efforts with capable allies and partners to assure access to and use of the global commons, both by strengthening international norms of responsible behavior and by maintaining relevant and interoperable military capabilities.” In the face of persistent threats, some hybrid in nature, and their consequences, Conflict and Cooperation in the Global Commons provides a forum where contributors identify ways to strengthen and maintain responsible use of the global commons. The result is a comprehensive approach that will enhance, align, and unify commercial industry, civil agency, and military perspectives and actions.

This book deals with two areas: Global Commons and Security: inextricably melted together and more relevant than ever in a world which is ever globalized and... with an incognita looming on the horizon: the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic upon the International Relations and globalization. Global Commons have always been relevant. It was Mahan who argued that the first and most obvious light in which the sea presents itself from the political and social point of view, is that of a great highway; or better, perhaps, of a wide common... Nowadays, this view has been further developed and, in addition to the unique legal implications that the Global Commons introduce, they are viewed, more and more intently, as a common pool of resources. Or perhaps, not that common... Resources, the key word! Which has to be always supplemented by two key words: access and security. And still, another one: data, the cyberspace contribution to the equation.

Global commons are domains that fall outside the direct jurisdiction of sovereign states - the high seas, air, space, and most recently man-made cyberspace - and thus should be usable by anyone. These domains, even if outside the direct responsibility and governance of sovereign entities, are of crucial interest for the contemporary world order. This book elaborates a practice-based approach to the global commons and flows to examine critically the evolving geopolitical strategy and vision of United States. The study starts with the observation that the nature of US power is evolving increasingly towards the recognition that command over the flows of global interdependence is a central dimension of national power. The study then highlights the emerging security and governance of these flows. In this context, the flows and the underlying global critical infrastructure are emerging as objects of high-level strategic importance. The book pays special attention to one of the least recognized but perhaps most fundamental challenges related to the global commons, namely the conceptual and practical challenge of inter-domain relationships-between maritime, air, space, and cyber-flows that bring about not only opportunities but also new vulnerabilities. These complexities cannot be understood through technological means alone but rather the issues need to be clarified by bringing in the human domain of security.

'Global Commons’ refers to resource domains or areas that lie outside of the political reach of any one State, including sea areas beyond national jurisdiction and Antarctica. The concept of ‘global commons’ is a living concept and can accommodate, over time, other commons at the international level, such as biodiversity and generic resources. The outlook for the global marine commons is not encouraging: fishery resources continue to deplete, marine biodiversity continues to reduce, and plastic wastes in the oceans continue to increase. In international law, there are legal regimes governing global marine commons, the most important of which is the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC). Effective as of 1994 LOSC governs the high seas, international seabed and its resources, marine environmental protection, and fisheries. Global Commons and the Law of the Sea offers intellectual discussions on global marine commons. It contains six parts respectively addressing the principle of the common heritage of mankind (CHM), freedoms of high seas, deep sea mining and international seabed, area beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) governance, management of geoengineering and generic resources, and recent developments in the polar regions.