William Underwood Postdoctoral Fellow

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stockholm University Faculty of Law and Senior Fellow of the Stockholm Centre for International Law and Justice.  In my research I use legal and empirical methods (quantitative and qualitative, including field interviews) to understand the role and effects of law in relation to peace and democratic governance in fragile and conflict-affected settings. In addition to my academic work I also act as a consultant on issues related to peace processes and political transitions. My professional profile can be found here.

Research

I am interested in how international and constitutional legal rules and frameworks support (or undermine) inclusive and sustainable peace processes and political transitions. My current research examines how international law shapes participation and authority in inter-state peace processes, focussing on current and recent processes such as in relation to Ukraine, Palestine and Armenia-Azerbaijan. In my doctoral research I explored how the influence of international law on intra-state (civil war) peace processes affects who decides constitutional change. The published dissertation,We, the Generals: International Law and Authority to Change the Constitution in Peace Processes after Civil War (Stockholm University, 2025), drew on several months of field interviews with negotiatiors, mediators and political leaders in South Sudan.

Experience

I have consulted for the UN Mediation Support Unit and the the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) on issues related to peace and transition processes. My work has included developing tools for practitioners and authoring policy papers on the design and sequencing of peace processes, peace agreeements and post-conflict conflict constitutional reform. Earlier in my career I served as an Australian Government diplomat and legal advisor in Canberra and The Hague, where I represented Australia in multilateral negotiations concerning the International Criminal Court, Hague Conference on Private International Law and Permanent Court of Arbitration. I have previously also worked as an International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Officer for Australian Red Cross and as an intern with the UN Security Council Secretariat in New York. I am admitted as a lawyer (barrister and solicitor) in Australia.

Education

I hold a doctoral degree (LL.D.) in international law from Stockholm University, as well as master’s degrees in public international law (LL.M.) from the University of Melbourne, and in peace and conflict studies (MSSc) from Uppsala University where I was a Rotary Peace Fellow.  I also hold a bachelor's degree in law, history and political science (BA/LL.B.) from the University of Tasmania.

Teaching

I designed and teach the intensive summer school courses International Law, Peace and Post-Conflict Transitions, and International Criminal Law.  I also teach in courses on human rights law and legal English.

Publications

Underwood, W. (2025), ‘Extensions to Transitional Governments: The Uses and Limits of their Regulation’, Annual Review of Constitution Building

Underwood, W. (2025), We, the Generals: International Law and Authority to Change the Constitution in Peace Processes after Civil War (doctoral dissertation, Stockholm University)

Underwood, W. (2023), South Sudan’s Permanent Constitution-Making Process Negotiations: The Influence of International Law and Public Participation (The Sudd Institute)

Underwood, W. (2022), ‘Control of Military Forces’, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press)

Mayai, A.T., M. Le Riche and W. Underwood (2022), Democratic Elections in South Sudan (The Sudd Institute)

Underwood, W. (2021), “Emmanuel H.D. De Groof, State Renaissance for Peace: Transitional Governance under International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2020, pp. 395; Emmanuel H.D. De Groof and Micha Wiebusch (eds.), International Law and Transitional Governance: Critical Perspectives, Abingdon, Routledge, 2020, pp. 165.” 30 Italian Yearbook of International Law 594

Houlihan, E., and W. Underwood (2021), Emergency Law Responses and the Covid-19 Pandemic (International IDEA)

Underwood, W (2019), ‘The Bougainville Independence Referendum and the “Duty to Consult”’ (EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Underwood, W., S Bisarya and K Zulueta-Fülscher (2018), Interactions between Elections and Constitution-Building Processes in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (International IDEA)