Dr Huw Williams
(he/him)

: Welsh speaking
: Available for postgraduate supervision

Teams and roles for Huw Williams

Reader in Philosophy
School of English, Communication and Philosophy

I am a political philosopher, interested in egalitarian and radical traditions of thought, with a particular focus on engaging with activism and the public sphere. My research connects questions of global justice and international political theory more generally with an interest in the local, namely the intellectual history of Wales and its progressive traditions of thought.

I have published a wide variety of writing in both English and Welsh, from books to blogs. This includes a philosophy and current affairs column for the Welsh Literary Review, O’r Pedwar Gwynt and articles for online publications such as The Conversation and OpenDemocracy.

Date
Type

2026

Williams, H. L. 2026. Richard Price and his contemporaneous Left-Kantianism. Kantian Review (10.1017/s1369415425101179)

2025

Williams, H. 2025. Valleys Cymunedoli Cymoedd: A Valleys' story. Project Report.[Online].Ambobdim Cymru. Available at: https://www.ambobdim.cymru/en/profile-content/valleys-cymunedoli-cymoedd-a-valleys-story/.
Williams, H. 2025. Iaith Pawb?. [Online].Nation Cymru: Nation Cymru. Available at: https://nation.cymru/feature/iaith-pawb/.
Williams, H. 2025. Welsh universities are ailing. [Online].unherd.com: UnHerd. Available at: https://unherd.com/2025/08/can-reform-win-wales/.
Williams, H. 2025. Socrates ar y stryd: tu hwnt i oed yr addewid. O'r Pedwar Gwynt (27)
Williams, H. 2025. JR Jones and Wittgenstein: Resisting the demise of the Welsh-language ‘neighbourhood’. In: Sandry, A. ed. Wittgenstein in Swansea: Philosophy and Legacy. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. , pp.85-110.
Williams, H. 2025. Socrates ar y stryd: tu hwnt i hunanoliaeth. O'r Pedwar Gwynt (26)

2024

Evans, N. , Pemberton, E. and Williams, H. 2024. ‘The first condition of freedom’: A century of anti-racist resistance in Cardiff. In: Evans, N. and Williams, C. eds. Globalising Welsh Studies: Decolonising history, heritage, society and culture. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. , pp.247-265.
Williams, H. 2024. Socrates ar y stryd: dicter. O'r Pedwar Gwynt (25)
Williams, H. 2024. Rhagair. In: Evans-Jones, G. and Rees, D. H. eds. Hunan a Chenedl: Cyfrol Gyfarch E. Gwynn Matthews. Astudiaethau Athronyddol Vol. 9.Talybont: Y Lolfa. , pp.7-17.
Williams, H. L. 2024. Mining the past: The case for historical narratives in global justice theorizing. Journal of International Political Theory 20 (2), pp.161-180. (10.1177/17550882231205097)
Williams, H. 2024. Socrates ar y stryd: llafarganu penwag. O'r Pedwar Gwynt (24)

2015

Williams, H. L. 2015. Corbyn for Cymru. Planet Magazine 2015 (219) 01.11.15.
Williams, H. L. 2015. Law yn Llaw: Athroniaeth a'r Gymraeg? (Hand in Hand: Philosophy and Welsh). In: Matthews, E. G. ed. Astudiaethau Athronyddol 4 (Philosophical Studies 4). Y Lolfa

2014

Williams, H. L. 2014. Wacky races: Miller, Pogge and Rawls, and conceptions of development in the global justice debate. Journal of International Political Theory 10 (2), pp.206-228. (10.1177/1755088214526020)
Williams, H. L. 2014. Pelagius a'r Syniad o Hunanwellhad (Pelagius and the idea of self-improvement). In: Matthews, E. G. ed. Astudiaethau Athronyddol 3 (Philosophical Studies 3). Y Lolfa
Williams, H. 2014. Considerations on the Scottish Referendum and a discourse on the British conundrum: Mill, Price and the question of nationalism. Annals of the Croatian Political Science Association 11 (1), pp.7-25.
Williams, H. 2014. Welsh Keywords: Hunaniaeth. Planet Magazine - The Welsh Internationalist 213 , pp.98-106.
Williams, H. L. and Gealy, W. 2014. Swyddogaeth Athroniaeth [The task of philosophy]. In: Matthews, E. G. ed. Y Drwg, Y Da a'r Duwiol. Astudiaethau Athronyddol Vol. 3.Tal-y-bont: Y Lolfa. , pp.85-95.

2013

Williams, H. L. 2013. The law of peoples. In: Mandle, J. and Reidy, D. A. eds. A Companion to Rawls. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy Wiley-Blackwell. , pp.327-345.
Williams, H. 2013. Rhyfel Cyfiawn ac Athroniaeth John Rawls. In: Matthews, E. G. ed. Cenedligrwydd, Cyfiawnder a Heddwch - Ysgrifau Ar Athroniaeth Wleidyddol. Astudiaethau Athronyddol Aberystwyth: Y Lolfa. , pp.35-56.

2012

Williams, H. 2012. What the life of Lord Elystan Morgan says about modern Wales [Newspaper Article]. Western Mail 2012 (8 Nov)
Morgan, E. Williams, H. ed. 2012. Elystan: atgofion oes. Talybont: Y Lolfa.
Williams, H. 2012. Oisín Tansey, Regime-building: democratization and international administration [Book Review]. Intelligence and National Security 27 (6), pp.915-916. (10.1080/02684527.2012.708219)

2011

Williams, H. L. 2011. On Rawls, development and global justice: The freedom of peoples. International Political Theory Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.

2010

Williams, H. 2010. Equality and the British left: A study in progressive political thought, 1900–64. Ben Jackson. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2007, 304pp., £60.00, ISBN: 978-0719073069 [Book Review]. Contemporary Political Theory 9 (3), pp.353-355. (10.1057/cpt.2009.28)

My research incorporates a variety of interests connected by the unifying themes of egalitarianism and radicalism.

My first monograph, On Rawls, Development and Global Justice elaborated Rawls' institution-building approach to international assistance, offering an alternative to the discourse of democracy-building. I have since expanded my analysis of The Law of Peoples in publications on Democracy Promotion (2021), Just War (2020) and the potential for moral learning in international society (2020). Oft-maligned, and admittedly limited in some regards, Rawls' contribution to international political theory remains for me an insightful starting point for addressing the challenges of international politics.

In the context of Global Justice I have developed an interest in the presuppositions of the mainstream debate. I have published on the assumptions around development in the field (2014) and in a book on Global Justice co-authored with Carl Death (2017), we interrogate the interface between theory and practice, reflecting in part on the philosophical grounds for establishing greater global solidarity. I have recently argued for the need to historicize the debate (2023) and to engage on a more multidisciplinary basis, and am currently writing on the intersection with linguistic justice.

The interest in linguistic justice naturally flows from my position as a minoritized language speaker, and in this context I have published two Welsh-language monographs, Credoau'r Cymry (2016) and Ysbryd Morgan (2020) that bring together my research on intellectual history in Wales, focusing in particular on radical figures such as Pelagius, Richard Price, and JR Jones. These books experiment with form, deploying imaginary dialogues, and reflect my efforts to reimagine Welsh-language philosophy and the associated critical debate. I am currently working on the final part of the trilogy and bringing the associated research into the anglosphere, through writings on Henry Jones (2023), J.R. Jones (2025) and Richard Price (upcoming).

I endeavour to use this research paradigm as a basis for regular contributions to public debate in Wales. I was heavily involved in the celebrations of Richard Price's tricentenary and have been working on impact in that context. Public engagement has always been integral to my contribution as an academic, and as far back as 2012 I edited the memoirs of the former Home Office Minister, Lord Elystan Morgan (Lolfa) and more recently co-edited a volume on contemporary politics, The Welsh Way (2021) - books that along with my numerous essays on various platforms reflect my commitment to the study of, and enhancement of politics and the public sphere in Wales' fledgling democracy.

Teaching interests

I teach on a variety of philosophy and politics modules, primarily through the medium of Welsh. Their content falls within the following areas:

Contemporary (International) Political Philosophy
Theories of Global Justice
The History of Political Thought
Philosophy and Doctrine in Wales

As an undergraduate I studied philosophy and psychology at the LSE, and received a Diploma from the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, in Central and Eastern European Studies. As a Morrell Scholar I studied political theory at the University of York Politics Graduate School. I received a Ph.D. from the International Politics department at Aberystwyth in 2009, where I then took up the post of lecturer, before moving to Cardiff in 2012 as a philosophy lecturer with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. In my role as lecturer with the Coleg it is my responsibility to expand the teaching of philosophy through the medium of Welsh across the higher education institutions in Wales.

From 2018-2024 I was inaugural Dean for the Welsh Language at Cardiff University, working as a strategic lead across all aspects of our Welsh-language activity, with responsibility for drawing up and implementing our institution-wide strategy. I am also the University's representative for the recently established Wales Peace Academy and I am part of the School's group of Philosophy researchers, and a member of Cardiff Law and Global Justice.

Beyond the University I am President of the Urdd Athronyddol (Philosopher's Guild) and was on the Board of Directors of Mudiad Meithrin for ten years, a Wales-wide charity that provides pre-school care. I was the secretary of the TAG campaign that fought successfully to establish a Welsh-medium primary school in South Cardiff, where I am Chair of Governors, and have been involved in various forms of activism at a local and national level.

I have supervised students across a range of subjects in Political Philosophy. Areas of particular interest are:

Global Justice
International Political Theory
Intellectual History, Philosophy and Politics in Wales
Linguistic Justice
Philosophy and Activism

Philosophers at Cardiff University welcomed leading international scholars to a major conference exploring the social, political, ethical and aesthetic dimensions of language.

Cardiff hosts international philosophy conference on speech and society

25 August 2026

Philosophers at Cardiff University welcomed leading international scholars to a major conference exploring the social, political, ethical and aesthetic dimensions of language.

A new Welsh-language podcast series presented by Dr Huw Williams, Reader in Philosophy is taking on some of the biggest questions we wrestle with as humans.

New Welsh-language podcast asks life’s big questions

24 February 2026

A new Welsh-language podcast series presented by Dr Huw Williams, Reader in Philosophy is taking on some of the biggest questions we wrestle with as humans.