Ian Bond

Ian Bond

Deputy director
Areas of expertise 

Russia and the former Soviet Union, European foreign policy, Europe/Asia relations, US foreign policy.

Twitter 
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Stronger sanctions on Russia: Essential, but not a strategy

Stronger sanctions on Russia: Essential, but not a strategy

25 February 2022
The West is rightly responding to Putin’s all-out attack on Ukraine’s territorial integrity with sanctions. But they need to be part of a wider strategy to ensure that he cannot win.

Britain needs a new Russia policy

24 January 2022
The British government, once naively optimistic about Russia, has become more hard-nosed in its analysis. It should now do more to pursue a coherent Russia strategy with like-minded countries. 
Why the West should deter a Russian attack on Ukraine

Why the West should deter a Russian attack on Ukraine

30 November 2021
Russian forces are massing near Ukraine’s border again. Putin hopes to win concessions from Kyiv without fighting, but more concessions will not bring peace. The West should focus on deterring Russia.

Britain and France should stand together

29 November 2021
UK-French relations are fractious across the board. The two countries must not lose sight of their common international security interests. As Europe’s pre-eminent military powers, they need each other.

Bridging the Channel: The UK's nuclear deterrent and its role in European security

18 November 2021
The UK’s nuclear deterrent is intended to defend its NATO allies as well as itself. The UK must do a better job of persuading allies that its commitment to them is real.
Lukashenka is the problem, not the migrants

Lukashenka is the problem, not the migrants

12 November 2021
The crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border is artificially manufactured. Europe needs to focus on the cause of the problem – Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s desire to strike back at the EU.

Why have Europe's energy prices spiked and what can the EU do about them?

28 October 2021
Europeans’ skyrocketing energy bills are not primarily Russia’s fault, though it is capitalising on Europe’s vulnerability.

Transatlantic relations after Afghanistan and AUKUS

30 September 2021
America’s relations with its European allies have survived worse crises than the row over whose submarines Australia will buy, or even the Afghanistan debacle. The US should not be complacent, however.

You can leave Afghanistan, but will Afghanistan leave you?

19 August 2021
The Taliban’s victory is a disaster for Western policy, but it is not the end of the story. The West must now work hard to mitigate the fallout.

The Moscow coup(s) of 1991: Who won and why does it still matter?

17 August 2021
Thirty years after the coup that triggered the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russia is ruled by the heirs of the plotters, not their democratic opponents. Why?