Dr. Jessica West

Golden Dome Explained: Ambition, Reality, Risk - Project Ploughshares In January 2025, US President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14186, directing the development of a sweeping new missile defence system called Golden Dome. While still in the early stages, the pla...

9/ 📄 For background check out (via
@ploughsharesca.bsky.social and Kathryn Barrett):

ploughshares.ca/golden-dome-...

8/ This path may be moving forward,but how we engage still matters.

Canada has choices to make about the kind of partner we want to be and the kind of security we want to build.

7/ Canada’s contribution to continental defence should be guided by:
🛡️ Resilience
🤝 Responsibility
⚖️ Restraint
…not illusions of invulnerability.

6/ Leverage diplomacy, not just hardware

✅ We’ve long been a leader in arms control and strategic risk reduction. That role is needed now more than ever.

5/ Push for strategic restraint:

✅ Canada use its role to push back on destabilizing proposals like space-based interceptors and advocate for responsible behaviour in orbit.

4/ There ARE ways forward for Canada:

✅ Invest in defence by detection
Our real strength is in early warning, surveillance, and situational awareness, especially across the Arctic.

3/ This isn’t just about defence, it’s about strategic stability. Systems like Golden Dome are:

❌ Expensive
❌ Unproven under real-world stress
❌ Known to fuel arms races rather than prevent them

2/ Missile defence sounds reassuring.

But let’s ask:
🔸 Does it actually make us safer or just more expensive?
🔸 Are we buying deterrence or buying into escalation?

🚨 Canada has lifted restrictions on joining missile defence. Talk of participating in the U.S.-led Golden Dome is gaining momentum.

What does this mean, and what should Canada do next? 🧵

Still digesting last week’s #ParosOEWG session, but wanted to share the CIGI submission on emerging tech in space.

AI, cyber, quantum tools are reshaping space. Principles alone aren’t enough: we need the “missing middle” of real-world practice.

🛰️ Link: meetings.unoda.org/meeting/7486...

5/ As the OEWG debates how to prevent conflict and weapons in space, we need to ask:
🛑 Security for whom?
🧭 What harms are we overlooking?
🌍 Whose voices are still missing from the room?

4/ We found that threats in space—whether destructive or subtle—often reinforce inequalities here on Earth.

And that vulnerability in space doesn’t track with how many satellites a country has in orbit.

3/ We looked at how different identities and communities experience the risks and benefits of space systems.

The harms aren't just about weapons. Many are invisible, uneven, and felt most by those already at the margins.

2/ This consultation report, co-authored with Vaishnavi Panchanadam and others via
@ploughsharesca.bsky.social explores what it means to take human security seriously in space governance.

It asks: who benefits—and who is left vulnerable?

Hidden Harms: Human (In)security in Outer Space: Consultation Visualization - Project Ploughshares Overview This report is a visualization of the report Hidden Harms: Human (In)security in Outer Space: Consultation Report, which outlines key themes and ideas from a consultation on intersectional pe...

🪐 1/ I didn’t post much when this first came out because I was caring for a loved one.

But as I follow the #ParosOEWG discussions this week, the themes in Hidden Harms: Human (In)security in Outer Space feel more relevant than ever.

ploughshares.ca/hidden-harms...

⚠️ Day 3 of the #ParosOEWG

I’ve been following along closely, but won’t be able to provide detailed coverage for the rest of the week due to other work (and some cherished family time in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦).

📰 A full overview and analysis will follow next week so stay tuned.

Dr. Jessica West (@jessicawestphd.bsky.social) Exploring peace, security, and space tech with a critical eye and a human touch. Research: Grey Zones of Space Governance https://bit.ly/4jaj0Zo ; Hidden Harms in Outer Space https://bit.ly/3DTnBPJ ...

Why is Canada even entertaining the idea of joining Trump's "Golden Dome," a program that would cost billions of dollars and likely would not even work? Let's look at the facts: By @jessicawestphd.bsky.social from @ploughsharesca.bsky.social
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

WOOHOO 🎉

6/ More interventions ahead this afternoon.

Already it is clear that many states see value in combining norms, rules, and principles of behaviour with a long-term drive to legal approaches underpinned by clarity and verification.

END

5/ South Africa (national):
Treaty-based approach brings clarity & predictability, but supports interim norms
🧭 Use OEWG to reflect, adapt, and push for meaningful new agreements in response to evolving tech

4/ Singapore:
🔁 Dual-use nature of space tech = risk of miscalculation
🛰️ Space debris threatens all states
👁️ Greater transparency needed for rendezvous & proximity ops
🛡️ Supports norms now + legally binding rules later

Build on #ASAT test moratorium

3/ African Group (via South Africa):
Reaffirmed outer space as the common heritage of humankind
☮️ Must remain peaceful
🚫 No weapons of mass destruction
🛰️ No deliberate debris
⚖️ Protection for equitable development is essential

2/ Turkiye: Supports a legally binding instrument but sees value in interim trust-building. Priorities include:
📡 Emergency contact lists
📞 Direct comms between authorities
🛰️ Advance notice of risky ops
💬 Info-sharing on launches & debris

1/ 🎥 UN High Rep Disaramement Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu opened with a clear message:

“Restraint and trust are in short supply.”
She warned that technological and geopolitical shifts have lowered the barriers to a space arms race—and urged states to act before it’s too late.

🚨 Substantive work begins at the UN meetings to prevent an arms race in outer space (#ParosOEWG) as the agenda and timetable are adopted.

Themes from the first few statements: #WMD, #debris, #transparency, #communication, #equiy 🧵

11/ The Chair reminded delegations that some demands exceed the group’s mandate and the Chair's mandate.

He urged all to reflect and seek common ground.

END!

10/ Russia’s bottom line:

No agenda adoption until there’s consensus on the entire package:
📌 Timetable
📌 Agenda
📌 Observer modalities

Everything must be in writing, approved by consensus, and formally adopted.

9/ Ireland, Colombia, Canada responded:
– Group statements are part of how diplomacy works
– It’s artificial and inefficient to restrict them
– States should be free to join more than one group statement if they wish

8/ Russia also questioned the EU’s role as an observer:
– Should only speak once per agenda item, as a group statement
– Otherwise, it risks being treated like a full member state
– Urged strict limits on when/how EU can take the floor

7/ Russia also insisted that observers be approved by delegates prior to each session, and emphasized that "Any observers must not use opportunity to the detriment of the group i.e. to politicize or to make allegations about member states."