Visiting Assistant Professor
Ph.D., The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Areas of Specialization:
- African Security
- Foreign Policy Decision Making
- South African Foreign Policy
- American Foreign Policy
Scholarly Achievements:
Christopher Williams is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Mary Washington. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer in the International Relations department at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University, and a PhD in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Global Affairs at Tufts University. In 2018 Christopher was a Bradlow Fellow at The South African Institute of International Affairs. His research focuses on elite foreign policy decision-making and security issues in sub-Saharan Africa.
Select Publications:
2023
Williams, C and Moshoeshoe, M, Lesotho: The National Security Service’s Organizational Culture, Oversight and Politics. In Shaffer (ed.) The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures, Rowman & Littlefield.
2022
Conflicting Perspectives and Cooperative Connections: South African – US Relations during the Ramaphosa Administration. In Van Wyk, Masters and Mthembu (eds.) South African Foreign Policy Review, Volume 4, Human Science Research Council.
2021
Re-Evaluating South African Foreign Policy Decision-Making: Archives, Architects and the Promise of Another Wave. Politikon, 48 (4): 547-571.
Alfred Nzo: Reassessing a Misunderstood Minister. African Studies, 80 (1): 21-39.
Explaining South Africa’s China Choice. In Alden and Wu (eds.) The China–South Africa Relationship: A Partnership of Paradoxes, Palgrave.
2020
Explaining South Africa’s China Choice. In Alden and Wu (eds.) The China–South Africa Relationship: A Partnership of Paradoxes, Palgrave.
2019
Political Imperatives and Military Preparations: New Insights into why South Africa’s 1998 Intervention in Lesotho Went Awry. South African Journal of International Affairs, 26 (1): 25-51.
2018
Williams, C and Hurst, C, Caught between Two Chinas: Assessing South Africa’s switch from Taipei to Beijing. South African Historical Journal, 70 (3): 559-602.
2017
Assessing South Africa’s Ambivalent SOGI Diplomacy in Africa. South African Journal of International Affairs, 24 (3): 375-394.
2015
Peacemaking from the Inside Out: How South Africa’s Negotiated Transition Influenced the Mandela Administration’s Regional Conflict Resolution Strategies. South African Journal of International Affairs, 22 (3): 359-380.
Contact Information:
To contact Professor Williams, send an e-mail at: cwilli32@umw.edu