Remote Sensing for International Peace and Security: Its Role and Implications

Remote sensing technology has seen a massive rise in popularity over the last two decades,
becoming an integral part of our lives. Space-based satellite technologies facilitated access to the
inaccessible terrains, helped humanitarian teams, support complex emergencies, and contributed to
monitoring and verifying conflict zones. The scoping phase of this review investigated the utility
of the role of remote sensing application to complement international peace and security activities
owing to their ability to provide objective near real-time insights at the ground level. The first part
of this review looks into the major research concepts and implementation of remote sensing-based
techniques for international peace and security applications and presented a meta-analysis on how
advanced sensor capabilities can support various aspects of peace and security. With key examples,
we demonstrated how this technology assemblage enacts multiple versions of peace and security:
for refugee relief operations, in armed conflicts monitoring, tracking acts of genocide, providing
evidence in courts of law, and assessing contravention in human rights. The second part of this review
anticipates future challenges that can hinder the applicative capabilities of remote sensing in peace
and security. Varying types of sensors pose discrepancies in image classifications and issues like cost,
resolution, and difficulty of ground-truth in conflict areas. With emerging technologies and sufficient
secondary resources available, remote sensing plays a vital operational tool in conflict-affected areas
by supporting an extensive diversity in public policy actions for peacekeeping processes.