Tony Johnson
Affiliate Non-Resident Senior Scholar
Tony Johnson is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. His research focuses on strategic civic literacy and democratic resilience — examining how democracies translate national security challenges into public understanding, and how informed civic engagement shapes security outcomes. At Georgetown, he develops frameworks for bridging the gap between Pentagon-level expertise and democratic publics, contributing to the Center’s work at the intersection of security studies, civil-military relations, and governance.
Tony brings to this work three decades of experience at the apex of U.S. national security decision-making. He has served as Intelligence Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security, and Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. At the Institute for Defense Analyses, he led the Strategic Analytic Red Team and directed defense institution-building programs with Brazil and Colombia — work that engaged NATO allies, African Union partners, and national defense ministries on security governance, intelligence reform, and civil-military capacity development.
As President & CEO of the Truman Center for National Policy and Truman National Security Project (2024–2025), Tony directed the strategic transformation of a 2,500-member expert network spanning government, academia, and civil society. He currently serves as Senior Advisor at Purposeful Advisors, where he counsels corporate executives and institutional leaders on geopolitical risk, strategic communications, and governance. He is also the Founder & Publisher of Reconnecting the Republic, a Substack platform translating national security and foreign policy for general audiences.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Tony earned his M.A. in International Security Studies from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, his B.A. (cum laude) from Norwich University, the nation’s oldest private military college, and he holds executive credentials from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Tony was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 2024 and was named to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) National Security & Foreign Affairs Leadership List in 2022. His publications include strategic analyses for the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and New America, as well as commentary on security governance, democratic resilience, and civil-military affairs.
Tony is a son of California with deep roots in Nevada and Vermont.