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 Program on Strategy, Policy, and Diplomacy Research (SPDR) at The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and the Founding Director of the Space Law, Data, and Policy Program (SPACE LDP) at the School of Law.
Her research interests are in outer space security, diplomacy, and international affairs, with a focus on Japan and Asia. Along with books and monographs reflecting these themes, she has also published articles in venues such as the American Journal of International Law Unbound, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, International Studies Quarterly, and International Security. She is most recently co-editor of the special issue on Space Diplomacy: The Final Frontier of Theory and Practice, and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Space Security. She earned Master’s degrees from Columbia University and Yale Law School, and a doctorate from Harvard University in political science. She is an elected member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and a lifetime member of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR).