William Phelan is Associate Professor of International Relations at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Phelan obtained his PhD in Political Science at Harvard University in 2007, and was Assistant Professor at Middlebury College, Vermont, USA before joining Trinity College Dublin in 2007. At Trinity, Professor Phelan is instructor for courses on international relations, international law, dispute settlement, and research design.

Professor Phelan’s research focusses on the politics of international law, including dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization, and on the politics of the European Court of Justice within the European Union.

His recent book, “In Place of Inter-State Retaliation” (Oxford 2015). was recently awarded the “Brian Farrell Book Award” for the best book published in 2015 by a member of the Political Studies Association of Ireland. His papers have appeared in International Studies Review, European Law Journal, International Theory, Journal of European Public Policy and Journal of Common Market Studies.

He has taught ‘International Organization’ at the China-European Union School of Law in Beijing. Phelan’s current research focusses on the role of individual judges in the history of the European Court of Justice, and on various debates in international relations theory.