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Dr James Johnson

Dr James Johnson
Dr James Johnson

Dr James Johnson

Lecturer

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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.

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships
  • Co-Director of Strategic Studies
  • Social Sciences PG Committee, Member
  • Social Sciences Research Committee, Member
  • PIR PG Staff Student Liaison Committee, Member
  • PIR PG Exam Board Committee, Member
  • Personal Tutor
External Memberships
  • Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of Leicester
  • Non-Resident Associate, "The Towards a Third Nuclear Age: Strategic Conventional Weapons and the Next Revolution in the Global Nuclear Order," European Research Council (ERC) funded project
  • Mid-Career Cadre, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), Project on Nuclear Issues
  • British International Studies Association, Member 
  • International Studies Association­, Member 

Latest Publications

View My Publications

Research

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

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

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

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  • The 2019 UK PONI Papers: VIII. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Strategic Stability, Escalation, and Nuclear security

    Johnson, J., Dudin, S. (ed.), Wiley, C. (ed.)
    London, UK: Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. 5 pages
    Books and Reports: Commissioned Reports

  • China’s Vision of the Future Networked Battlefield: Emerging Military-Technological Challenges to the United States

    Johnson, J.
    The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International Publishing
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Chinese Evolving Approaches to Nuclear ‘War-Fighting’: An Emerging Security Dilemma?

    Johnson, J.
    The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International Publishing
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Conceptualizing the United States--China Security Dilemma

    Johnson, J.
    The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International Publishing
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Introduction: Obama’s ‘Pivot’ to Asia and Air-Sea Battle

    Johnson, J.
    The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International Publishing
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • The US-China military and defense relationship during the Obama presidency

    Johnson, J.
    Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY. 198 pages
    Books and Reports: Books

  • Washington’s Perceptions and Misperceptions of China’s Anti-access Area Denial ‘Strategy’

    Johnson, J.
    The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International Publishing
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • ‘Guam Express’ and ‘Carrier Killers’: China’s Asymmetric Missile Threat to the United States in the Pacific

    Johnson, J.
    The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International Publishing
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • China's “Guam Express” and “Carrier Killers”: The Anti-Ship Asymmetric Challenge to the US in the Western Pacific

    Johnson, J.
    Comparative Strategy, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 319-332
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • China’s Nuclear Modernisation:: The Evolution of Chinese Nuclear Doctrine, Strategic Ambiguities & Implications for Sino-U.S. Relations

    Johnson, J., Futter, A.
    Nuclear Politics in Asia. Kouhi Esfahani, M., Mohammadi, A. (eds.). 1st edition. Routledge, 20 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
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