Dave Richardson

Dave Richardson earned his Ph.D. in political science from the George Washington University. He also holds a M.S. in leadership and M.A. in national security & strategic studies. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he is a former Navy Captain who commanded a destroyer, served on seven ships around the globe, and completed a joint deployment to Afghanistan. He worked on Capitol Hill for three years in national security policy, including as legislative fellow on the personal staff of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Most recently he served as Chair of USNA’s Political Science Department and as Chair of Chairs to the Naval Academy Provost, and he also held the Johnson Professorship of Leadership of Ethics and received the Military Professor Teaching Excellence Award. Dave has experience teaching a wide range of courses in American politics, quantitative methods, civil-military relations, public policy, and leadership. His research has been published in Armed Forces & Society, Joint Forces Quarterly, Naval Institute’s Proceedings, and War on the Rocks, and his current research agenda focuses on American civil-military relations and national security policy in an era of affective polarization.