Chaire de recherche du Canada en ÉPI
Équipe
Dr. Eytan Tepper is an adjunct professor, space governance, at the Graduate School of International Studies, Laval University, and a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of political science at the Faculty of Social Sciences, working with the Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy. He is the coordinator of the research project on the governance of space debris funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
He earned his doctorate from the McGill University Faculty of Law, where he was associated with the Institute of Air and Space Law, and subsequently pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the New York University (NYU) School of Law. His research agenda is space law and governance and his approach is transdisciplinary, employing cutting-edge literature from international law, international relations and political economy. He has published articles on space governance in journals like the Journal of Space Law, Space Policy and New Space and has a forthcoming book.
As a lawyer, he had a career spanning the private and public sectors, notably with the Bank of Israel and the Israeli Foreign Trade Administration, resolving issues related to international trade and cooperation and financial and industrial policy. He led a formal inquiry delegation to China under WTO rules and co-authored the feasibility study on a China–Israel Free Trade Area Agreement. His work in the private sector included serving as counsel for the largest infrastructure project in Israel, representing Fortune 500 companies (e.g. Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly) in intellectual property lawsuits, and working on Albert Einstein's estate. Also a trained economist, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Israeli Bar Association's Economic Forum.
Research interest
space law, space governance, global governance, international law
Teaching
Gouvernance globale de l'espace extra-atmosphérique (space governance)
Current research project
- Astro-Environmentalism: The Polycentric Governance of the Earth’s Orbital Space
- Resolution of Space Related Disputes
- The Governance of Space Exploration Corporations
Articles scientifiques
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Morin, JF and E. Tepper (2023) "The Empire Strikes Back: Comparing US and China’s Structural Power in Outer Space". Global Studies Quarterly, Volume 3(4), ksad067,
This article assesses the structural power of the United States and China in the field of space governance. While much of the literature on space power focuses on their technologies and capabilities, we take a complementary approach and explore their capacity to shape the regulatory landscape. Possessing structural power has far-reaching implications for global power projection as well as for various industries, such as telecommunications, transportation, and remote sensing. To assess structural power, we gathered and analyzed three types of data: a dataset featuring 1,709 space organizations, a second dataset comprising 1,764 international space arrangements connecting them, and insights from fifty-two interviews with key space actors. Our findings indicate that the United States holds significant structural power thanks to its thriving commercial space sector and extensive international network. This has enabled the global diffusion of its preferred norms while simultaneously constraining China’s space cooperation network. Despite its remarkable technological capabilities, China has not been able to translate them into substantial global structural power. To encourage further exploration in this domain, we make available our original dataset of 1,764 space arrangements, including 970 in full-text format, inviting fellow researchers to investigate other facets of outer space governance.