Staff profile

Dr. P.J. Blount (Ph.D., M.S., Global Affairs, Rutgers University; LL.M., King's College London; J.D., University of Mississippi; B.A./A.B.J., University of Georgia) is Assistant Professor of Space Law at Durham University. He is also a visiting scholar at Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Previously, he served as a Lecturer in Law at Cardiff University, an adjunct professor for the LL.M. in the Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Luxembourg, an adjunct professor at Montclair State University, and a Visiting Scholar at the Beijing Institute of Technology School of Law.  He also completed an industrial fellowship sponsored by the Luxembourg National Research Fund wherein he split his time between SES and the University of Luxembourg researching cybersecurity issues relevant to the space industry.

Blount’s primary research areas are international space law with a focus on space security and cyberspace law and governance. He has published and presented widely on the topic of space law and has given expert testimony on Space Traffic Management before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Space. His book, Reprogramming the World: Cyberspace and the Geography of Global Order, was published open access with e-International Relations Press in 2019.

He is an editor of the Proceedings of the International Institute of Space Law and was formerly the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Space Law. He currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the International Institute of Space Law and is a licensed attorney with the State Bar of Georgia (USA).

 

Authored book

• The Space Legislation of Luxembourg: A Commentary
  
  Hofmann, M., Blount, P., Leterre, G., Salmeri, A., & Zarkan, L. (2022). The Space Legislation of Luxembourg: A Commentary. Kluwer.
• Reprogramming the World: Cyberspace and the Geography of Global Order
  
  Blount, P. (2019). Reprogramming the World: Cyberspace and the Geography of Global Order. e-International Relations Press.

Chapter in book

• Space Traffic Management
  
  Blount, P. J. (2025). Space Traffic Management. In M. Hofmann & P. J. Blount (Eds.), Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Space Law (pp. 314-316). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207361.00085
• Remote Sensing
  
  Blount, P. J. (2025). Remote Sensing. In M. Hofmann & P. J. Blount (Eds.), Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Space Law (pp. 238-240). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207361.00066
• A Narratve of Space Law
  
  Blount, P. (2025). A Narratve of Space Law. In A. M. Brennan (Ed.), The Future of Outer Space Law. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003370499-4
• The Historical Fragmentation of US Space Law
  
  Blount, P. (2024). The Historical Fragmentation of US Space Law. In The Rise of the Commercial Space Industry: Early Space Age to the Present (pp. 197-210). Palgrave MacMillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63410-9_10
• International Relations Theory and the Evolution of “Peaceful Purposes” in Outer Space
  
  Pekkanen, S. M., & Blount, P. (2024). International Relations Theory and the Evolution of “Peaceful Purposes” in Outer Space. In S. M. Pekkanen & P. Blount (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Space Security (pp. 3-21). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197582671.013.1
• The Discourse of Space Securitization
  
  Blount, P. (2024). The Discourse of Space Securitization (S. Pekkanen & P. Blount, Eds.; pp. 61-75). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197582671.013.4
• Norm Formation and Space Traffic Management
  
  Blount, P. J. (2024). Norm Formation and Space Traffic Management. In S. M. Pekkanen & P. J. Blount (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Space Security (pp. 650-664). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197582671.013.36
• Remote Sensing Law: An Overview of its Development and its Trajectory in the Global Context
  
  Blount, P. (2024). Remote Sensing Law: An Overview of its Development and its Trajectory in the Global Context. In P. Thenkabail (Ed.), Remote Sesnsing Handbook (2nd ed.). CRC Press.
• Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
  
  Blount, P. (2024). Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In T. Masson-Zwaan & M. Hofmann (Eds.), Introduction to Space Law. Wolters Kluwer.
• Space cybersecurity and US law
  
  Blount, P. J. (2024). Space cybersecurity and US law. In L. J. Smith, I. Baumann, & S. Wintermuth (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Commercial Space Law (pp. 503-514). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003268475-47
• Remote Sensing
  
  Blount, P., & Alvarado, S. C. (2024). Remote Sensing. In T. Masson-Zwaan & M. Hofmann (Eds.), Introduction to Space Law. Wolters Kluwer.

Edited book

• Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Space Law
  
  Hofmann, M., & Blount, P. J. (Eds.). (2025). Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Space Law. Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207361

Journal Article

• Coexisting in Low-Earth Orbit: Large Constellations and Cybersecurity Governance
  
  Blount, P. J., & Cesari, L. (2023). Coexisting in Low-Earth Orbit: Large Constellations and Cybersecurity Governance. Air and Space Law, 48(Special Issue), 137-154. https://doi.org/10.54648/aila2023035
• Technically Speaking: UNCOPUOS and the Technical Governance of Space
  
  Blount, P. J. (2023). Technically Speaking: UNCOPUOS and the Technical Governance of Space. Indian Review of Air and Space Law, 1(1), 1-12.

Other (Print)

• Donald Trump’s approach to US space policy could throw up some surprises, especially with Elon Musk on board
  
  Bowen, B., & Blount, P. (2024). Donald Trump’s approach to US space policy could throw up some surprises, especially with Elon Musk on board. The Conversation. The Conversation.