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Ian Shields

Associate Lecturer in International Relations, Anglia Ruskin University

In the RAF Ian was a navigator, initially on the Vulcan bomber but later on the Hercules transport aircraft. He commanded a front-line squadron and saw service in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan among other places. He entered an academic stream towards the end of his career, gaining two master’s degrees, and ended his career in an MoD think-tank looking forward 40 years to gauge security threats broadly, and the roles of air and space power in particular.

Since leaving the RAF he has lectured at a number of UK Universities in the fields of International Relations and Security, and presently is the coordinator for the MA in International Relations at Anglia Ruskin University, where he also lectures in Criminology and Working in the Public Services. He maintains his MoD links, and has written for both MoD and wider, defence publications.

Ian’s prime research area is the relationship between the Government and the Media over the use of military force, but he is also researching the International Order and challenges it is facing, as well as broader issues within the International Relations and Security fields.

Having helped establish the MA in International Relations at ARU, Ian continues to deliver modules on Conflict and Communication and on War, Peacekeeping and Military Intervention, as well as continuing to help develop the degree. He also delivers modules on Leadership and on Terror as a Crime.

Global Geopolitics Series

Trump NATO strategy awaited with increasingly frayed nerves in eastern Europe

Jan 18, 2017 16:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views

While America celebrates the inauguration of its 45th president, there is widespread concern about his potential approach towards NATO, his relations with Russia and whether Russian president Vladimir Putin will try to...

Global Geopolitics Series

Special forces should be at the heart of Britain's military planning

Oct 21, 2016 09:52 am UTC| Insights & Views

What sort of military does the UK need to deal with a rapidly changing set of potential threats? Conventional military thinking still holds that the UK needs to retain what the Americans would describe as full-spectrum...

Global Geopolitics Series

Cool heads needed as investigation into downing of MH17 points blame at Russia

Sep 29, 2016 14:42 pm UTC| Insights & Views

The findings from the Dutch-led investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airways flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 offer a compelling case that the missile used was fired from territory controlled by pro-Russian...

Briferendum Aftermath Series

Brexit is not the beginning of a global security crisis

Jul 03, 2016 02:48 am UTC| Insights & Views

Now its people have decided to back out of the EU, Britains future place in the world order is more unclear than it has been for decades but that still doesnt mean that the world is less safe because of the British...

Economy

China's Deflationary Woes: CPI and PPI Signal Persistent Economic Challenges

Chinas Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped 0.1% from year-ago in Chinas Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 0.1% from a year ago in March 2025, less than Februarys decline of 0.7%. That was lower than an expected rise of...

Trump's Tariff U-Turn: 90-Day Reprieve for Most, China Still in the Crosshairs

On April 2025, Donald Trump announced a 90-day tariff relief for the majority of nations, a dazzling about-turn after imposing them, out of fear of market volatility. This was at a time when global markets were in...

[Editorial Cartoon] “Tariff Chicken Game” – U.S. and China Speed Toward Economic Catastrophe

Amid rising tensions in the U.S.-China trade war, this weeks editorial cartoon depicts a dramatic chicken game scenario, where two economic superpowers appear locked in a collision course with potentially devastating...

Trade War Escalates: China Fires Back with 84% Tariff on US Goods

China escalated the stakes of the trade war with America by imposing an 84% tariff on American products as a retaliatory measure to President Trumps recent tariffs on Chinese products. The retaliatory tariff which...

China's Treasury "Nuclear Option": Bluff or Reality?

If China were to sell its $761 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, the immediate effects would be higher U.S. Treasury yields, which would rise by 30 to 60 basis points, raising the borrowing cost and cutting economic growth....

Politics

IRS Chief to Resign Amid Controversial Tax Data Sharing Deal with Homeland Security

The acting head of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Melanie Krause, is set to resign following a controversial agreement to share undocumented immigrants tax data with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),...

Ken Paxton to Challenge Sen. John Cornyn in 2026 Texas GOP Primary

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced his bid to unseat fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn in the 2026 GOP primary. Speaking on Fox News The Ingraham Angle, Paxton declared his intention to bring stronger...

Trump Slams TSMC Subsidy, Threatens 100% Tax Without U.S. Manufacturing

President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration for awarding a $6.6 billion subsidy to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), arguing that semiconductor giants like TSMC do not need government...

Trump Moves to Block State Climate Laws to Boost Fossil Fuel Industry

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Tuesday aimed at blocking state-level climate laws that restrict fossil fuel use and promote clean energy. This latest move underscores Trumps ongoing efforts to...

Pam Bondi to Lead DOJ Initiative Defending Second Amendment Rights

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to spearhead a new Justice Department initiative aimed at protecting gun rights under the Second Amendment, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters. The memo outlines Bondis plan to...

Science

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

For a few days in mid-February, headlines around the world buzzed about the potential for an asteroid to hit the Earth in 2032 specifically, asteroid 2024 YR4. The chance of this impact rose to a high of 3.1 per cent on...

A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...

Technology

US Senators Question Microsoft and Google Over AI Cloud Partnerships

Two Democratic U.S. senators are pressing Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) for transparency over their cloud computing partnerships with leading artificial intelligence firms. Senators Elizabeth Warren of...

Telegram Fined $80K by Moscow Court for Extremist Content Refusal

A Moscow court has fined Telegram Messenger Inc. 7 million roubles (approximately $80,000) for refusing to remove content allegedly promoting extremist activities, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Court...

Samsung Posts Resilient Q1 Profit on Strong Chip and Smartphone Demand

Samsung Electronics reported a better-than-expected 0.2% drop in Q1 operating profit, reaching 6.6 trillion won ($4.49 billion), beating market forecasts of 5.1 trillion won. This resilience was driven by solid memory chip...

Meta Unveils Llama 4 Maverick and Scout, Boosts AI Ambitions

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has unveiled its latest AI modelsLlama 4 Maverick and Llama 4 Scoutcalling them its most advanced large language models (LLMs) to date. Designed as multimodal AI systems, they can process and...

Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Heads to Jury Trial in 2026

Elon Musks high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI is set for a jury trial in spring 2026, as ruled by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The case centers on Musks...