Bill Stanley earned his AB in International Relations from Stanford University in 1981 and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991. He joined the tenure track faculty at UNM in 1992.  His work has focused on civil wars, political violence, international peacekeeping, and post-conflict reforms to state institutions including police, military, and judiciaries, with a regional emphasis on Central America. He has begun a research program on climate change politics, examining the impact of international agreements on the carbon intensity of national economies, as well as adaptation efforts in Latin America. He teaches across both the international relations and comparative politics subfields, including specialized courses on international peacekeeping, civil wars, Central American politics, and the international politics of climate change.  Graduate level courses include research seminars on civil war and peacekeeping, and environmental politics; pro-seminars in international relations and comparative politics; and empirical research methods. He has served in a number of administrative roles at UNM, including department chair, director of Latin American Studies, and currently director of the Latin American and Iberian Institute.  

Research Interests

Stanley’s research interests have focused on explaining patterns of political violence and its prevention, with an emphasis on Central American cases.  His first book, The Protection Racket State: Elite Politics, Military Extortion, and Civil War in El Salvador, examined the political dynamics behind the mass killings carried out by the military and police in El Salvador in the 1970s and 1980s.  His second book Enabling Peace in Guatemala: the Story of MINUGUA (International Peace Institute and Lynne Reinner, 2013) is an assessment of the strategies of the United Nations for bringing peace and post-war stability in a context of limited international political leverage and strong domestic resistance to reform.  His work on political violence and its prevention, counterinsurgency, and post-conflict reform of police and justice institutions has appeared in International Organization, Politics and Society, Global Governance,International Peacekeeping, and other journals. Current projects include a study of the impact of international agreements on the carbon intensity of economies (emissions mitigation), climate adaptation policies in Latin America, and non-compliance with internationally-sponsored civil war peace agreements. 

Recent Accomplishments

His book Enabling Peace in Guatemala: the Story of MINUGUA was published by Boulder: Lynne Reinner Press and New York: International Peace Institute, May 2013.  

Selected Publications

• Enabling Peace in Guatemala: the Story of MINUGUA.  Book length history of the UN’s role in verifying and implementing peace agreements in Guatemala from 1994 to 2004.  (Boulder: Lynne Reinner Press and New York: International Peace Institute, 2013)
• 'Counterinsurgency in El Salvador,” Politics and Society, 38 (10), March 2010, with Mark Peceny, pp. 67-94.    
• “Multiple Transitions and Interim Governance El Salvador and Guatemala,” for Interim Governments: Institutional Bridges to Peace and Democracy?  Karen Guttierri and Jessica Piombo, eds., pp. 123-146. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007.
• “Business as Usual?  Justice and Policing Reform in Postwar Guatemala,” in Constructing Justice and Security After War, Charles T. Call, ed., pp. 113-155. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007.  
• “El Salvador: State-Building Before and After Democratisation, 1980-1995,” Third World Quarterly, 27 (1) Winter 2006, pp. 101-114.  
• “Civilian Security” in Ending Civil Wars: The Implementation of Peace Agreements, Stephen John Stedman, Donald Rothchild, and Elizabeth Cousens, eds. pp. 303-326. Co-authored with Charles Call. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 2002.  
• “Broad Participation, Diffuse Responsibility: Peace Implementation in Guatemala,” in Ending Civil Wars: The Implementation of Peace Agreements, Stephen John Stedman, Donald Rothchild, and Elizabeth Cousens, eds. pp. 421-462.  Primary author with David Holiday. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 2002.    
• “Protecting the People: Public Security Choices after Civil Wars.” Global Governance 7 (2) pp. 151-172, Spring 2001.  Co-authored with Charles Call.  
• “Liberal Social Reconstruction and the Resolution of Civil Wars in Central America.” International Organization 55(1) pp. 149-182, Winter 2001.  Co-authored with Mark Peceny.  
• “Building New Police Forces in Guatemala and El Salvador: Learning and Counter-Learning.” 
• International Peacekeeping 6(4) pp. 113-134, Winter 1999.   
• “Peace and Public Insecurity: the Civilian Police Component of Peace Operations in El Salvador,” Policing the New World Disorder: Peace Operations and the Public Security Function. Robert Oakley, ed. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press, 1997.  Co-authored with Robert Loosle.  
• “Building the Peace: Lessons from El Salvador.” Journal of International Affairs 46, no.  2 pp. 415-438, 46, Winter 1993. Co-authored with David Holiday.   
• “Blessing or Menace?  The Security Implications of Central American Migration.” International Migration and Security. Myron Weiner ed., pp. 229-260. Boulder: Westview Press, 1993.    
• "Economic Migrants or Refugees from Violence? A Time Series Analysis of Salvadoran Migration to the U.S." The Latin American Research Review, Vol. 22, No.  1 pp. 132-154, Winter 1987.