Dr Richard Johnson
Senior Lecturer
Politics
Personal statement
I joined the School of Government and Public Policy in 2013, after completing a PhD in Political Science at the University of California, Davis. I also hold a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles along with an awesome AA in Liberal Arts from Long Beach Community College.
My broad interests revolve around the arms trade, international conflict processes (and their effect on domestic politcal processes), and international conflict management.
A full CV can be downloaded from my webpage at: www.richard-johnson.net
Prize And Awards
- The Data Lab MSc Programme
- Recipient
- 21/2/2020
- Strathclyde Teaching Excellence Award
- Recipient
- 2015
Publications
- Boys and their toys : status inconsistency in non-democratic regimes and the import of major weapon systems
- Johnson Richard AI, Shreve Aaron P
- Journal of Conflict Resolution Vol 68, pp. 2101-2127 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/00220027231220021
- Building cybersecurity capacity : a framework of analysis for national cybersecurity strategies
- Craig Anthony J S, Johnson Richard A I, Gallop Max
- Journal of Cyber Policy Vol 7, pp. 375-398 (2023)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/23738871.2023.2178318
- Arms transfers and international relations theory : situating military aircraft sales in the broader IR context
- Johnson Richard, Willardson Spencer
- Conflict Management and Peace Science Vol 39, pp. 191-213 (2021)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894221992034
- The Security of 5G : Written Evidence Submitted by the University of Strathclyde
- Paul Greig, Irvine James, Johnson Richard, Craig Anthony
- (2020)
- Decision-making in the arms of a dependent relationship : explaining shifts in importer acquisition patterns of major weapon systems, 1955-2007
- Johnson Richard AI
- Defence and Peace Economics (2019)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2019.1618651
- Trigger-happy? Military regimes and the timing of conflict
- Siverson Randolph M, Johnson Richard AI
- Conflict Management and Peace Science Vol 35, pp. 544-558 (2018)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894216673614
Teaching
I teach/have taught:
- L2201 - International Relations and Global Politics
- L2312 - War, Terrorism, and Conflict
- L2314 - US National Security Policy
- L2426 - International Security: Concepts and Issues
- L2941 - Principles of Research Design
- L2963 - Contemporary Security Challenges and Responses
Research Interests
My main research interests are in the following ares:
- Arms trade; broadly defined and policy versus practice of individual states
- Military aid allocation
- Effects of arms transfers on international processes
- Scientific study of conflict
The primary focus of my research revolves around arms transfers between states. My doctoral thesis focused on how arms diffuse throughout the international system, how exporters and importers choose their arms transfer partners and why importers change their behaviour by diversifying their arms networks.
I am currently engaged in two main projects. The first examines why the major powers choose to intervene (or not to intervene) in international conflict by supplying major weapon systems to the states directly involved. The second examines the decision-making process of the United States’ arms sales policies in comparison to military aid policies to determine if similar factors are at work. Both projects use extensive statistical analyses to test the hypotheses proposed.
Future work includes examining British arms transfers in comparison to the policies stated by the government in power since the end of World War II. I am also interested in how deaths of British soldiers involved in conflict affects voter behaviour.
Professional Activities
- Soft Power
- Contributor
- 3/3/2025
- Boys and Their Toys: Leaders Prestige and the Import of Major Weapon Systems
- Speaker
- 11/2/2019
- Foreign Policy Analysis (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 2019
- European Journal of Political Economy (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 2019
- Human Rights and Democratic Arms Transfers: A Research Agenda
- Speaker
- 9/4/2018
- Conflict Management and Peace Science (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 2018
Projects
- State of the Arms Trade
- Johnson, Richard (Principal Investigator)
- Talk given to Civil Servants at the Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office
- 21-Jan-2023 - 21-Jan-2023
- Cyber Strategies and Norms Development: Examining the Impact of Domestic Strategy on International Cooperation
- Johnson, Richard (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2021
- The mechanisms of national cyber capability development and their impact
- Johnson, Richard (Principal Investigator) Gallop, Max (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2021
- Policy versus Practice in United Kingdom Arms Transfers
- Johnson, Richard (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2016 - 31-Jan-2017
Contact
Dr
Richard
Johnson
Senior Lecturer
Politics
Email: richard.johnson@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 2668