Biography

Dr James Johnson is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Strategic Studies in the Department of Politics and International Relations. He is also an Honorary Fellow at the University of Leicester, a Non-Resident Associate on the ERC-funded Towards a Third Nuclear Age Project, and a Mid-Career Cadre with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Project on Nuclear Issues. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at Dublin City University, a Non-Resident Fellow with the Modern War Institute at West Point, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, CA. He holds a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Leicester. Before entering academia, he worked in the financial sector, mainly in China, and is fluent in Mandarin.

His research examines the intersection of nuclear weapons, deterrence, great power competition, strategic stability, and emerging technology – especially artificial intelligence. His work has been featured in Journal of Strategic Studies, The Washington Quarterly, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Defence Studies, European Journal of International Security, Asian Security, Pacific Review, Journal for Peace & Nuclear Disarmament, Defense and Security Analysis, RUSI Journal, Journal of Cyber Policy, Journal of Military Ethics, War on the Rocks, and other outlets.

He is the author of The US-China Military & Defense Relationship During the Obama Presidency (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Warfare: USA, China & Strategic Stability (Manchester University Press, 2021), and AI and the Bomb: Nuclear Strategy and Risk in the Digital Age (Oxford University Press, 2023). His latest book project is The AI Commander: Centaur Teaming, Command, and Ethical Dilemmas – under contract with Oxford University Press.

Research Overview

• Strategic studies
• Artificial intelligence & future warfare
• Great power strategic competition
• Deterrence theory & strategic stability
• Political & cognitive psychology
• Nuclear weapons policy
• Nuclear non-proliferation & arms control issues

Current Research

Latest book project: The AI Commander: Centaur Teaming, Command, & Ethical Dilemmas (Oxford University Press, under contract).

Abstract: What do emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) mean for the role of humans in war? This book addresses the largely neglected question of how the fusion of machines into the war machine will affect the human condition of warfare. Specifically, it investigates the vexing, misunderstood, and at times contradictory, ethical, moral, and normative implications—whether incremental, transformative, or revolutionary—of synthesizing man and machine in future algorithmic warfare—or AI-enabled ‘centaur warfighting.’

Teaching Responsibilities

• Co-Director of Strategic Studies
• Nominated for the 2022 Excellence Award for Best Postgraduate Teaching