Saadia M. Pekkanen

Prof. Pekkanen is accepting new MA students for the 2026-2027 academic year

Saadia M. Pekkanen is the Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Professor of International Studies, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is Founding Director of the Space Law, Data, and Policy Program (SPACE LDP, Law School); and the Founding Director of the Program on Strategy, Policy, and Diplomacy Research (SPDR, Jackson School).

She works at the intersection of international relations and international law, specializing in the commercial, legal, and security policies shaping outer space affairs. Her regional expertise is in the foreign affairs of Japan and Asia, engaging broader themes of states, industrial policy, strategy and grand strategy, alliances, and governance in the world order.  She has published 8 books, as well as articles in venues such as American Journal of International Law Unbound, International Studies Quarterly, and International Security. She is most recently co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Space Security (2024).

She is a member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and a lifetime member of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR).