R. W. Johnson
British journalist, political scientist, and historian (born 1943)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
R. W. Johnson (1943–21 July 2026) was a British journalist, political scientist, and historian who lived in South Africa.[1]
Biography
Born Richard William Johnson in England, he was educated at Natal University and Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar. He was a fellow in politics at Magdalen College, Oxford, for 26 years,[2] and was an emeritus fellow until his death. His 2015 book Look Back in Laughter: Oxford's Postwar Golden Age is a memoir of his years at Magdalen, including his work with college president Keith Griffin to rescue the college's finances and buildings.[3] In reviewing his memoirs, The Economist described Johnson as a "romantic contrarian liberal".[4]
On his return to South Africa in 1995, Johnson became director of the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg until 2001.[5] He has been a South Africa correspondent for the London Sunday Times and also written for the London Review of Books[6] His articles for the LRB generally cover South African and to a lesser extent Zimbabwean affairs.
In early March 2009, Johnson injured his left foot while swimming. It became infected with necrotizing fasciitis,[7] and his leg was amputated above the knee.[8]
Criticism
Academic critics have raised concerns about Johnson's recent work, citing issues of accuracy, argumentation and the use of inflammatory but unevidenced claims.[10][11]
In a 2025 Mail & Guardian article, Imraan Buccus criticised Johnson for publishing an article in BizNews in which he labelled the Islamic newspaper Al-Qalam "antisemitic", a claim Buccus characterised as unfounded and reflective of a wider tendency to make statements without substantiating evidence.[12]
An earlier 2014 critique in Africa Is a Country by Benjamin Fogel described Johnson's evolution from a youthful radical to a right-leaning commentator, criticised his use of reductionist and stereotypical views of Africa and Africans, and noted a tendency to make sweeping and at times conspiratorial claims without evidence.[13]
Bibliography
- (ed. with Christopher Allen) African Perspectives (1970)
- How Long Will South Africa Survive? (1977)
- The Long March of the French Left (1981)
- Shootdown: The Verdict on KAL 007 (1985)
- Heroes and Villains: Selected Essays (1990)
- (ed. with Lawrence Schlemmer) Launching Democracy in South Africa: South Africa's First Open Election, April 1994 (1996)
- (ed. with David Welsh) Ironic Victory: Liberalism in Post-Liberation South Africa (1998)
- South Africa; The First Man, the Last Nation (2004)
- South Africa's Brave New World: The Beloved Country since the End of Apartheid (2009)
- How Long Will South Africa Survive?: The Looming Crisis (2015)
- Look Back in Laughter: Oxford's Postwar Golden Age (2015)
- Foreign Native: An African Journey (2020)