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

Publications

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, pp. 1-24 (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
Human rights and democratic arms transfers : rhetoric versus reality with different types of major weapon systems
Johnson Richard A I, Willardson Spencer L
International Studies Quarterly Vol 62, pp. 453-464 (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqx077

More publications

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

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
US Presidential Eelcetion for Scottish North America Business Council
Participant
9/11/2017

More professional activities

Projects

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

More projects