James has been managing editor of the Atlantic Council of The United States since September 2007. The views expressed in Outside the Beltway (OTB) do not necessarily reflect those of the council, its board of directors, or its staff. James founded OTB on Jan. 31, 2003, and was its sole author until November 2004. It has since evolved into OTB Media, a collection of Weblogs with over two dozen contributors. He also hosts a weekly radio program for BlogTalkRadio. He has published academic articles in International Studies Quarterly and Strategic Insights; five book reviews; 14 encyclopedia articles; over two dozen conference papers; and over three dozen magazine columns for Tech Central Station/TCS Daily, Reason, Legal Affairs, Human Events , and The Washington Examiner.

He worked two years as a management analyst at Lanmark Technology Inc., a Washington, D.C.-area defense contractor, as a consultant to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) in Falls Church, Va. From January 2004 to March 2005, he was also Managing Editor of Strategic Insights , the professional journal of the Center for Contemporary Conflict at the Naval Postgraduate School. Previously, he was acquisitions editor for international affairs at Brassey's Inc. (now, Potomac Books) a Dulles, Va., book publisher and a political science professor at Troy State University (now, simply Troy University), Bainbridge College and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Joyner served in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1992 and is a combat veteran of Operation Desert Storm. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and numerous service medals and ribbons. He is a graduate of the Airborne and Air Assault schools. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Alabama (1995) and B.A. (1987) and M.A. (1988) degrees in political science from Jacksonville State University. He has been married since October 2005 to the former Kimberly Webb and they reside in Alexandria, Va., with two dogs and two cats.