Douglas Johnston is President and Founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD). He led the seven year study that produced the book, Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft, published in 1994 by Oxford University Press and now
in its 13th printing and second foreign translation.  The significant world-wide receptivity to this book, including its incorporation into university and professional curricula, demonstrated the need for a focused and highly leveraged organization to address identity-based conflicts that exceed the grasp of traditional diplomacy by incorporating religion as part of the solution. This, in its essence, is the vision of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. Dr. Johnston has led the implementation of this vision over the last seven years and in so doing has created a vibrant force for peace.  

Dr. Johnston is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval Academy and holds a Masters degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University. He has a broad range of executive experience in government, academia and the military, 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 (Manpower).  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.