Past Events
CPG’s 8th Annual International Conference: “The Global Commons and the Governance of Unappropriated Spaces”
Agenda
Friday, 20 October 2017: Opening Ceremony
Welcoming words:
Peter Prügel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany
Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, Vice Rector, Thammasat University
Ingwer Ebsen, Professor, Faculty of Law, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Henning Glaser, Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Faculty of Law, Thammasat University
Informal get-together at cocktail reception
Saturday, 21 October 2017: First Conference Day
Welcoming words
Introduction to the conference theme:
Henning Glaser, Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Faculty of Law, Thammasat University
Group photo and coffee break
Summary statements on presentations of the speakers of the day
Topic: Global Commons, Geopolitics and a New International Order?
Chair: Ingwer Ebsen, Professor, Faculty of Law, Goethe University Frankfurt
Speakers:
Wallace C. Gregson, Senior Director, China and the Pacific, Center for the National Interest, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, USA
“Is the Post-WW II International Order Still Viable?”
Mika Aaltola, Director, Global Security Research Programme, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland
“Geopolitics of Global Flows – U.S. Policies of Global Commons from Obama to Trump”
Discussant: Kasit Piromya, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
Topic: Global Commons and International Law
Chair: Warawit Kanithasen, Senior Research Fellow, CPG
Speakers:
Kriangsak Kittichaisaree, Judge, The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Germany
“The Governance of Global Commons: Development, Challenges and Prospects”
Niels Petersen, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Münster, Germany
“Can Customary International Law Contribute to Protecting the Global Commons?”
Discussant: Iain Cowie, Lecturer, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Topic: Armed Conflict and the Governance of Transitional Spaces
Chair: Pokpong Srisanit, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University
Speaker: Noemi Gal-Or, Professor, Department of Politics, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Canada
“The Responsibility of the Armed NSA in International Humanitarian Law?”
Discussant: Marwaan Macan-Marcar, Asia Correspondent, Nikkei Asian Review
Sunday, 22 October 2017: Second Conference Day
Summary statements on presentations of the speakers of the day
Topic: Cyber Space: Norms, Power and Governance
Chair: Natthanicha Lephilibert, Krisdika Counsel, Office of the Council of State
Speakers:
Nicholas Tsagourias, Professor, School of Law, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
“Cyberspace and Sovereignty”
Anders Henriksen, Head, Centre for International Law, Conflict and Crisis, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
“Creating Norms in Ungoverned Spaces: Lessons from Cyberspace”
Tim Aistrope, Postdoc Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Cyber Security, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales Canberra, Australia
“Cyber Security and Political Information”
Discussants:
Klaus Larres, Professor, Department of History, North Carolina University, Chapel Hill
Virot Ali, Lecturer, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Topic: The Governance of Oceans and High Seas
Chair: Kittisak Prokati, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University
Speakers:
Robin Warner, Professor, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia
“Realising Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use in Marine Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Challenges and Prospects”
Zoe Scanlon, Research Associate, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore, Singapore
“Maritime Activities Beyond National Jurisdiction: Governance and Enforcement Challenges”
Discussant: Prasit Aekaputra, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University
Topic: Securing the Outer Space
Chair: Jan Kliem, Program Officer, CPG
Speaker:
Theresa Hitchens, Senior Research Associate, Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, University of Maryland, USA
“Space Security”
Discussant: Duc Quang Ly, Project Manager, CPG
Concluding remarks and conference closing
Report
From 20-22 October 2017, CPG hosted its 8th Annual International Conference on the topic “The Global Commons and the Governance of Unappropriated Spaces” at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel Bangkok. The conference offered an interdisciplinary forum to discuss and evaluate one of the most pressing issues in international politics and law today. Eleven International Relations and International Law experts from 9 countries were invited as speakers and joined by 13 highly distinguished discussants and chairs who led the panels as well as open floor discussions following the individual presentations.
The conference’s opening event was held on Friday evening, 20 October, at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and included welcoming remarks by Peter Prügel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, Vice Rector, Thammasat University, Ingwer Ebsen, Professor, Faculty of Law, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and Henning Glaser, Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. The opening remarks were followed by a cocktail reception which concluded the evening.
The first conference day on 21 October opened with introductory remarks to the topic of the conference and provided essential background on the importance of the conference theme and on frameworks within which the issue can and will be addressed over the course of the event. Subsequent to these remarks by Henning Glaser, Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, all speakers of the day were invited to take the stage and provide the essence of their presentations in a short, summarising statement to set the frame for all panels and presentations later in the day. In the order of appearance, the speakers were Wallace C. Gregson, Senior Director, China and the Pacific, Center for the National Interest, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, USA, who presented on the question “Is the Post-WW II International Order Still Viable?”; Mika Aaltola, Director, Global Security Research Programme, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland, speaking on “Geopolitics of Global Flows – U.S. Policies of Global Commons from Obama to Trump”; Kriangsak Kittichaisaree, Judge, The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Germany, presenting on “The Governance of Global Commons: Development, Challenges and Prospects”; Niels Petersen, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Münster, Germany, discussing “Can Customary International Law Contribute to Protecting the Global Commons?”; and Noemi Gal-Or, Professor, Department of Politics, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Canada, who spoke on “The Responsibility of the Armed NSA in International Humanitarian Law”. The first two speakers formed the first panel of the day under the topic of “Global Commons, Geopolitics and a New International Order?”, which was chaired by Ingwer Ebsen, Professor, Faculty of Law, Goethe University Frankfurt and discussed by Kasit Piromya, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. The following panel focused on “Global Commons and International Law” and benefited hugely from the vast experience and expertise of Kriangsak Kittichaisaree and Niels Petersen who both provided excellent presentations, chaired and discussed by Warawit Kanithasen, Senior Research Fellow, CPG, and Iain Cowie, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, respectively. Pokpong Srisanit, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University chaired the concluding panel of the day on “Armed Conflict and the Governance of Transitional Spaces” in which Marwaan Macan-Marcar, Asia Correspondent, Nikkei Asian Review discussed the presentation by Noemi Gal-Or. During the presentations and following discussions, it was pointed out that new strategies are essential to deal with the “tragedy of the commons” on a global scale and that a more fragmented order of international relations has, from a US point of view, replaced the single organising principle of the “Communist Challenge” since the end of the cold war. The global commons are a vital aspect in what constitutes global power today, making their governance an essential interest of every nation that aspires to play a leading role in the global order.
The second conference day once again began with a concise summary statement of each speaker about their presentations. The speakers of the first panel on “Cyber Space: Norms, Power and Governance” were Nicholas Tsagourias, Professor, School of Law, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, presenting on “Cyberspace and Sovereignty”; Anders Henriksen, Head, Centre for International Law, Conflict and Crisis, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, speaking about “Creating Norms in Ungoverned Spaces: Lessons from Cyberspace”; and Tim Aistrope, Postdoc Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Cyber Security, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales Canberra, Australia, who discussed “Cyber Security and Political Information”. The panel was chaired by Natthanicha Lephilibert, Krisdika Counsel, Office of the Council of State and discussed by both Klaus Larres, Professor, Department of History, North Carolina University, Chapel Hill; and Virot Ali, Lecturer, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University. The following panel under the theme of “The Governance of Oceans and the High Seas” was chaired by Kittisak Prokati, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. Prasit Aekaputra, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, discussed the presentations of Robin Warner, Professor, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Australia on “Realising Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use in Marine Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Challenges and Prospects”; and Zoe Scanlon, Research Associate, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore, Singapore on “Maritime Activities Beyond National Jurisdiction: Governance and Enforcement Challenges”. The final panel of the conference on “Securing the Outer Space” opened with a presentation on “Space Security” by Theresa Hitchens, Senior Research Associate, Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, University of Maryland, USA, which was chaired by Thitirat Thipsamritkul, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, and discussed by Supot Mityodwong, Head, Military Legislation Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Royal Thai Air Force. A highlight of the day were the intense discussions on the increasing importance of both outer- and cyberspace in possible conflict scenarios. NATO has clearly appreciated the magnitude of cyber-attacks, stating their potential to trigger NATO’s collective defense article 5. Conflict involving the destruction or manipulation of satellites has been highlighted as becoming increasingly likely and governance of outer space needs to be prioritised on any major power’s security agenda.
Subsequent to all panel discussions, the respective chairs opened the floor to questions from the audience. The very active and interested participants made for highly relevant and lively debates throughout both conference days, which aided to raise the quality of the event to the standard that was achieved. The interesting, relevant and therefore highly successful conference was concluded by Ingwer Ebsen, delivering his final remarks.
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