Richard Davis is a professor of practice at the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. He is also Founding Fellow of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict at Harris Manchester College and the Department of Politics and Internatinoal Relations in the University of Oxford. The centre engages in conflict resolution efforts at the state and group level, particularly through research, dialogue and training. Davis is also a senior research fellow at Artis International where he leads multidisciplinary teams in field-based scientific research in conflict zones.

Davis holds several active appointments, which include: senior research fellow, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford; senior research associate, Centre for International Studies, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford; senior research associate, Department of Anthropology, University of Oxford; chair, Permanent Monitoring Panel on Intergroup Conflict, World Federation of Scientists; and chairman of two community development boards.

Davis served at the White House as the director of Prevention (terrorism) Policy. Prior, he was the director of the Task Force to Prevent the Entry of Weapons of Mass Effect (framework for the prevention of the smuggling of nuclear materials) and the Director of the Academe, Policy and Research Senior Advisory Committee for two different Secretaries at the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Davis has been a senior policy fellow at RTI international, a senior associate at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, led a non-profit international development organization dedicated to the education and development of youth, including crime prevention, prevention of radicalization and conflict mitigation. 

Davis has authored or co-authored articles and publications on energy, international security, political violence and terrorism.  He recently wrote a book, published by Routledge on the cohesion between armed groups and their host populations. The book title is "Hamas, Popular Support & War in the Middle East" and was released in 2016.