We've launched a new site so please go to People & Research for current information on our faculty and staff.

Tana L. Johnson, Associate Professor of Sanford School of Public Policy and Political Science  

Office Location: Sanford Building 236, 201 Science Drive, Box 90245, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box: 90245
Email Address: tana.johnson@duke.edu
Web Page: http://www.organizationalprogeny.com
Web Page: http://www.organizationalprogeny.com/tana-johnson-cv-2018/

Areas of Expertise

  • International
    • Globalization
    • U.S. Foreign Policy
    • United Nations and International Institutions

Education:
Ph.D., University of Chicago, 2010

Research Categories: international relations, foreign policy, international organizations, international bureaucracy, institutional origins and change, international environmental policy, international energy policy, non-state actors, international political economy, international development, Asian politics

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Johnson, T; Urpelainen, J. "The more things change, the more they stay the same: Developing countries’ unity at the nexus of trade and environmental policy." Review of International Organizations 15.2 (April, 2020): 445-473. [doi]  [abs]
  2. Johnson, TL; Urpelainen, J. "The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same? Developing Countries’ Unity in International Politics.." Review of International Organizations (November, 2018).
  3. Johnson, TL. "Liberal Institutionalism." International Organization and Global Governance. Ed. Weiss, T; Wilkenson, R Routledge, February, 2018  [abs]
  4. Johnson, T. "Envisioning the invisible: Nonstate actors in international affairs." International Studies Review 18.4 (December, 2016): 722-724. [doi]
  5. Johnson, T. "Cooperation, co-optation, competition, conflict: international bureaucracies and non-governmental organizations in an interdependent world." Review of International Political Economy 23.5 (September, 2016): 737-767. [doi]  [abs]

Highlight:

(On leave during 2019-2020)
Tana Johnson (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is a political scientist working in the field of international relations and international/global policy.  Her work is driven by big puzzles in international relations and by important problems in the real world.  In global affairs, what makes delegation and institutional design so challenging?  Why do nation-states delegate to international institutions in spite of the challenges?  And how could we get things to work better?

Johnson's research uses interviews, analyses of original data, archival research, formal models, and computer-assisted textual analysis.  She examines the operations and design of international institutions, particularly those affiliated with the United Nations (UN) system.  Her research has been published in top outlets such as International Organization, Journal of Politics, Review of International Political Economy, and Review of International Organizations.

Johnson's book Organizational Progeny: Why Governments are Losing Control over the Proliferating Structures of Global Governance (Oxford University Press, 2014, 2017) shows that in a variety of policy areas, global governance structures are getting harder for national governments to control.  This is not only because the quantity and staffing of international organizations has mushroomed, but also because the people working in these organizations try to insulate any new organizations against governments' interference.  Organizational Progeny won the International Studies Association's Alger Prize for the best book on international organization and multilateralism.

Johnson has received research fellowships from the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University, and from the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University. She also has been an energy policy fellow through the Global Governance Futures (GGF) program, which brings together practitioners and academics from the United States, Japan, India, Germany, China, and Brazil.  She is a research fellow with Earth System Governance.  In addition, she serves as a faculty advisor and instructor for the Duke Global Policy (DGP) Program, which places graduate students in internships in international governmental and non-governmental organizations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Other Information
Tana Johnson's research interests include global governance, international organizations, energy/environmental policy, and U.S. foreign policy. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in International Organization, Journal of Politics, Review of International Organizations, and Oxford Handbook of the American Presidency. Her recent book Organizational Progeny (Oxford University Press, 2014) examines the role of international bureaucrats in designing new institutions. The book is the recipient of the International Studies Association's 2015 Chadwick F. Alger Prize for the best book on international organization and multilateralism.

Johnson has received research fellowships from the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University, and from the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University. She serves as a faculty advisor and instructor for Duke’s Program on Global Policy and Governance, which places graduate students in internships in international governmental and non-governmental organizations in Geneva, Switzerland. She also is an energy policy fellow through the Global Governance 2022 program, which consists of academics and practitioners from China, Germany, and the United States.

Tana L. Johnson