apply plugin: 'java'
repositories { mavenCentral() }
dependencies {
  compile 'log4j:log4j:1.2.15'
}
configurations.compile.resolutionStrategy.force 'log4j:log4j:1.2.17'

//dependencies --configuration compile yields:
log4j:log4j:1.2.15 -> 1.2.17

//dependencies --configuration runtime yields:
log4j:log4j:1.2.15

Runtime configuration extend compile configuration so I would expect it use resolution strategy rules for dependencies declared in 'compile' configuration. This is certainly the case for other configuration tweaks, for example 'exclusions' of the original configuration are used in the target configuration.

This problem also exists for newly added dependency resolve rules feature.

Workaround

Apply resolution strategy tweaks to all configurations:

configurations.all { 
  resolutionStrategy {
    ...
  }
}