Adrian Johnson graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2006 with an MA (Hons) in Politics and Economic History, including a year abroad at Queen's University, Ontario. In 2007 he completed an MA with Distinction in the Department of War Studies, King's College, London. 

His MA dissertation evaluated the importance of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants in the Sierra Leone and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other research interests of his include force and diplomacy, post-conflict reconstruction, and the political economy of armed conflict.

Born in Sierra Leone, he has lived in Israel, Indonesia, Cameroon and the UK.