Michael C Williams

I am a Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, and a Global Professorial Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Queen Mary – University of London in the United Kingdom.
My primary interests are in International Relations theory and security studies.
I focus on the relationship between ideas and action in global politics.

International Relations

New book. Coming soon!

Advancing an innovative Bourdieusian-inspired analysis of global politics as interaction between transnational fields, this book places development in the context of contemporary transformations in world order. It traces the history of development as a field of struggle from 1945 to the present, and argues that development is central to the emergence, maintenance, and transformation of world order.

January 2, 2026

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Event

Listen to our discussion of the rise of the radical right with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

November 8, 2025

Book talk in Glasgow

Please join us for this book talk in Glasgow, hosted by the Stevenson Trust for Citizenship and Scottish Council on Global Affairs

April 15, 2025