Ben is a former Policy Fellow at the European Leadership Network (ELN) where he focused on Russia-West relations, with a particular focus on the relationship between dynamics in Eastern Europe and the Caucuses and global security issues. Ben’s policy interests include strengthening the capacity of multilateral institutions to understand and perform their role in shaping European security dynamics; strengthening approaches to effective management of conflicts and political crises in Europe; and understanding the impact of cyber warfare, disinformation and other forms of ‘hybrid’ statecraft on traditional approaches to conflict management.
Prior to joining the ELN, Ben spent 5 years working for the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). Ben was embedded in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate where he focused on governance, economics and stability issues in the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans countries. Ben also spent time working in the British Embassy in Kyiv where he led delivery of the UK’s humanitarian and governance programmes in Ukraine.
Ben completed his Masters in Defence, Development and Diplomacy at the Durham Global Security Institute and was winner of the Royal United Service’s Institute Trench Gascoigne prize in 2014. He also holds a degree in Economics and Politics from the University of Exeter.
