James Johnson, PhD

Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Law & Government at Dublin City University and a Non-Resident Fellow with the Modern War Institute at West Point. I was previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) in Monterey, USA. I am also a Mid-Career Cadre Class of 2020 with the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues.

My research combines a regional focus on East Asia (especially China) with a thematic focus on emerging technologies (especially AI) and the future of warfare. My work has featured in The Journal of Strategic Studies, The Pacific Review, Asian Security, The Journal of Cyber Policy, The RUSI Journal, The Strategic Studies Quarterly, The Washington Quarterly, Comparative Strategy, Defense & Security Analysis, War on the Rocks, Modern War Institute, and other outlets. I am the author of The US-China Military & Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency, and Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Warfare: USA, China, and strategic stability. My latest book project is entitled Artificial Intelligence & the Bomb: Nuclear strategy and risk in the digital age – under contract with Oxford University Press.

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I hold a PhD in Politics & International Relations from the University of Leicester and am an Honorary Visiting Fellow with the School of History, Politics & International Relations. Before entering academia, I worked in the financial sector for two decades, mostly in China. I am fluent in Mandarin.

Latest Book

Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Warfare sketches a sobering picture of the potential impact of AI on the digitized battlefield, broadening our understanding of critical questions facing decision-makers. This book demystifies the hype surrounding AI in the context of nuclear weapons and, more broadly, future warfare. Specifically, it highlights the potential, multifaceted intersections of this disruptive technology with nuclear stability. The inherently destabilizing effects of AI in the military sphere may exacerbate tension between nuclear-armed great powers - especially China and the United States - but not for the reasons you may think.

Recent Articles

'Catalytic Nuclear War in the Age of AI and Autonomy: New military technology and inadvertent escalation risk between nuclear powers'

'Deterrence in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy: A paradigm shift in nuclear deterrence theory and practice?'

'Artificial Intelligence in Future Hyper-Warfare: A perfect storm of instability?'

'Delegating Strategic Decisions to Machines: Dr Strangelove redux?'

'Artificial Intelligence: A threat to strategic stability'

'AI, Drone Swarming, and Escalation Risks in Future Warfare'

'The AI-Cyber Nexus: Implications for military escalation, deterrence, and strategic stability'

'The End of Military-Technological Pax Americana? US-China strategic competition in artificial intelligence enabling technologies' 

'Artificial Intelligence & Future Warfare: Implications for international security'

'China’s vision of the future network-centric battlefield: Cyber, space, and electromagnetic asymmetric challenges to the US'

‘Chinese Evolving Approaches to Nuclear ‘War-fighting’: An emerging intense US-China security dilemma in the nuclear domain and threats to crisis stability in the Asia Pacific’ 

‘China’s ‘Guam Express’ and ‘Carrier Killers’: The anti-ship asymmetric challenge to the US in the Western Pacific, and security dilemma explanations’ 

‘Washington’s Perceptions and Misperceptions of Beijing’s Anti-access Area-denial (A2/AD) ‘Strategy’: Implications for military escalation control and strategic stability’