Dennis W. Johnson

Dennis Johnson is professor emeritus, George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. For most of his career, Dennis was a university professor and an academic dean, but for a decade he took a break from teaching and writing; he worked on Capitol Hill and later became a political consultant. His writings have concentrated on the history of American public policy and the professionalization of modern campaigns. Two books were published in 2022: Campaigns, Elections, and the Threat to Democracy, 2d ed (Oxford) and American Public Policy: Federal Domestic Policy Achievements and Failures, 1901-2022 (Routledge). Dennis has also written Democracy for Hire: A History of American Political Consulting (Oxford, 2016), a major contribution to the study of political consulting and its impact on campaigns and elections. His latest book, We're Number One!? America's Uncertain Place in the World (Routledge, 2025), demonstrates how the US has fallen behind in many areas of domestic policy. It will be available in July 2025. Dennis lives in the Denver, Colorado, suburbs with his wife Pat and their dog Snickers. For fun, he tries to read and write Chinese. Much harder than writing books!