James Nixey

Acting head of Research and Analysis

James Nixey is acting non-resident head of research and analysis at SCEEUS. He holds the same position our sister institute, the European Policy Institute in Kyiv (EPIK).

Between 2012 and 2025 James was director of the Chatham House Russia and Eurasia Programme, spending 25 years at the institute in total. During this time, James co-founded the institute's Ukraine Forum - at its start, the only dedicated centre on Ukraine in Europe. His work at Chatham House cemented a robust position toward Russia which was only later followed by other institutes. Between these two positions he has been writing papers for the UK Ministry of Defence. James looks at Russia’s relations with western and non-western countries alike, and the sources of tension inside Russia itself. He has been a regular visitor to Ukraine before and since the war and followed its domestic and external dynamics closely.

James has degrees in international relations and in Russian from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter respectively. He is an honorary research fellow in the latter. Based outside of London, near Oxford, he is also a non-resident fellow with the Geneva Centre for Security Studies, the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, and the UK-based Conflict Studies Research Centre.