Douglas Johnston: Faith-Based Diplomacy

Dr. Douglas Johnston has a broad range of executive experience in government, academia, the military, and the private sector, starting with ten years in the submarine service where, at the age of 27, he was the youngest officer in the US Navy to qualify for command of a nuclear submarine. Among his assignments in government, Dr. Johnston was a planning officer in the President’s Office of Emergency Preparedness, Director of Policy Planning and Management in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In academia, he taught international affairs and security at Harvard University and was the founder and first director of the Kennedy School’s Executive Program in National and International Security. Most recently, Dr. Johnston served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Among his other duties, he chaired the CSIS programs on maritime studies and on preventive diplomacy. Dr. Johnston has edited and authored several books, including Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Oxford University Press, 1994); Foreign Policy into the 21st Century: The U.S. Leadership Challenge (CSIS, 1996); and Faith-based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik (Oxford University Press, 2003). Dr. Johnston’s hands-on experience in the political/military arena coupled with his work in preventive diplomacy, has guided the work of ICRD since its inception. His deep interest in religion and conflict resolution stems from his extensive involvement with the National Prayer Breakfast fellowship.