John Allen Williams


John Allen Williams, also known as Jay Williams, is a professor emeritus of political science at Loyola University Chicago and is the former chair and president of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. He serves on the editorial board of the National Strategy Forum in Chicago, is editor of the National Strategy Forum Review, and is on the board of directors for the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.
John Williams is a retired captain in the US Naval Reserve, where he served aboard the USS Columbus and at the US Naval Academy. As a strategic plans officer in the US Navy, he also served on active and reserve duty with the Chief of Naval Operations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Naval War College, and the commander, Second Fleet.
John Williams is notable for his contributions to the study of the military, civil–military relations, and national security strategy. He has published extensively on these topics, co-authoring works with other notable figures in civil–military relations such as Sam C. Sarkesian, Charles C. Moskos, David R. Segal.

Notable publications

  • U.S. National Security: Policymakers, Processes, and Politics, 4th Edition, Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Press, 2008,.
  • The Postmodern Military: Armed Forces After the Cold War .
  • Soldiers, Society, and National Security .
  • "The U.S. Military: Balancing Old and New Challenges," , pp. 31–38.
  • "The Military and Society Beyond the Postmodern Era," 52, No. 2, pp. 199–216.
  • "Understanding Asymmetric Warfare: Threats and Responses," Review, pp. 23–26.
  • "The U.S. Naval Academy: Stewardship and Direction," , 123, No. 5, pp. 67–72.
  • "The New Military Professionals," , 122, No. 5, pp. 42–48.
  • "Civil-Military Relations and the American Way of War", in Stephen J. Cimbala, ed., Civil-Military Relations in Perspective: Strategy, Structure and Policy.
  • "Civil-Military Relations in the Second Bush Administration," in Stephen J. Cimbala, ed., The George W. Bush Defense Program: Policy, Strategy, & War, pp. 101–111.
  • "Educating Military Officers for an Ambiguous Strategic Future," Testimony before the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, September 10, 2009.
  • "Anticipated and Unanticipated Consequences of the Creation of the All-Volunteer Force," in The U.S. Citizen-Soldier at War: A Retrospective Look and the Road Ahead.
  • "Political Science Perspectives on the Military and Civil-Military Relations," in Giuseppe Caforio, ed., Social Sciences and the Military: An Interdisciplinary Overview.
  • "Do Military Policies on Gender and Sexuality Undermine Combat Effectiveness?", in Peter D. Feaver and Richard H. Kohn, eds., Soldiers and Civilians: The Civil-Military Gap and American National Security, pp. 361–402.