William Erich Ellison

William is a PhD student at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) focusing on great power politics, applied history, and diplomatic history. He studies the foreign policies of the United States, the major European powers, and Israel, analyzing these states’ grand strategies in a multipolar world. He is particularly interested in how history can provide lessons applicable to contemporary policymaking.

Prior to pursuing his PhD at SAIS, William completed his Master of Arts in International Relations at SAIS. While pursuing his studies at SAIS, William has also served as a consultant for the Marathon Initiative think tank. Before SAIS, William worked for three years at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank. Prior to that, William completed his undergraduate studies at Yale University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2018.

As Assistant Director, he assists AJI’s event planning, interfacing with governments and policymakers, and programme development.