Paul D. Williams is Professor in the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, and Director of the MA program in Security Policy Studies. Prior to moving to the Elliott School in 2006, Dr. Williams was a faculty member at the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick in the UK.

As well as working as a consultant and subject matter expert for a variety of governments, international organizations, and firms, Dr. Williams served as a Non-Resident Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute (2011-19) where he managed the “Providing for Peacekeeping Project.” During 2014-15, he was a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, and from 2011-2014 he served as Visiting Professor at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He has also been a visiting scholar at Georgetown University and the University of Queensland.

His research focuses on the politics and effectiveness of contemporary peace operations, the dynamics of warfare in Africa, and emerging security threats.