Senior Policy Fellow
Ukraine; comparative politics of democratisation in the post-Soviet states; political technology
English, Russian, Ukrainian, some Belarusian, conversational French
Andrew Wilson is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His topics of focus include Ukraine, comparative politics of democratisation in the post-Soviet states, and political technology
Wilson is Professor in Ukrainian Studies at University College London. His book Ukraine Crisis: What the West Needs to Know was published by Yale in October 2014 in the UK and in November in the USA. He has worked extensively on the comparative politics of the post-Soviet states since 1990. His other books include Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship (2011), The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation (Third edition, 2009), Ukraine’s Orange Revolution (2005) and Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World (2005).
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Russia sees two types of sovereignty in its civilisational space. Full Westphalian sovereignty – which it believes it has and Ukraine does not. This means that defending Ukraine means defending its sovereignty in full.
What concepts define Ukrainian history and identity, and how is this important in understanding Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion?
Lukashenka is complicit in Russia’s war on Ukraine. But this should not stigmatise members of the Belarusian democratic movement – who need more support than they are receiving.
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy.
What can and should the EU do to support Ukrainian sovereignty?
The campaign has encouraged Zelensky’s tendency towards governance through informal means. This has allowed him to act speedily – but it risks letting oligarchic influence return
What kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe?
Recent elections have seen Georgia’s ruling party dig in, while Moldova’s has lost the presidency
The campaign has encouraged Zelensky’s tendency towards governance through informal means. This has allowed him to act speedily – but it risks letting oligarchic influence return
The EU should make use of its significant leverage in Georgia and Moldova to counter their ruling parties’ extensive repertoire of electoral dirty tricks
Introduction Volodymyrska Hill, Kyiv, on a June evening in 2019. Kyivans and tourists stroll along the riverside park’s newly relaid paths, many wending their way…
Dramatic change may not be on the cards, but the EU can and should shift to a ‘status quo plus’ approach that builds on existing activity
Renewed Minsk-Moscow cooperation in the ‘Zapad’ war games should not see the door to Belarus closed
The future of Europe’s relations with Russia looks bleak as the Kremlin pursues an increasingly aggressive foreign policy
The penetration of Ukrainian politics by the super-rich oligarchy still forms a major obstacle to reform
Ukrainian experts on war, politics and national identity
As the European order shifts, the EU has a chance to rethink its strategy and objectives
The fifth edition of ECFR’s Foreign Policy Scorecard examines EU’s response to a year of crisis
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Russia sees two types of sovereignty in its civilisational space. Full Westphalian sovereignty – which it believes it has and Ukraine does not. This means that defending Ukraine means defending its sovereignty in full.
Lukashenka is complicit in Russia’s war on Ukraine. But this should not stigmatise members of the Belarusian democratic movement – who need more support than they are receiving.
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy.
Recent elections have seen Georgia’s ruling party dig in, while Moldova’s has lost the presidency
President Volodymyr Zelensky could violate the constitution as he tries to prevent the Constitutional Court from dismantling governance reforms
Russia’s goal in its neighbourhood is to regain influence, not to be surrounded by neutral, self-sufficient buffer states
A new mass civic movement has emerged in Belarus – the EU should put supporting it at the heart of its new policy towards the country
In the run-up to a difficult election for President Alexander Lukashenka, the three main opposition candidates have been excluded from the vote and there have been mass arrests. Western countries should try to deter further repression in Belarus without isolating the country.
What concepts define Ukrainian history and identity, and how is this important in understanding Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion?
What can and should the EU do to support Ukrainian sovereignty?
What kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe?
Although US President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the election are shameless, they are still more subtle than the outright election rigging that one finds…
In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro stepped in as host and welcomes senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson as well as political scientist…
Mark Leonard speaks with Andrew Wilson, Kadri Liik and Nicu Popescu about the Kerch Strait ship capture, what this means and how the international community…
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses peacekeeping in Ukraine and the EU's Russia policy with ECFR's Russia expert, Kadri Liik and ECFR's Ukraine expert Andrew Wilson
Discussion avec Andrew Wilson, senior policy fellow du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR et Mathilde Ciulla, coordinatrice du bureau de Paris de l'ECFR,…
Podcast de la conférence “L’Union européenne et le Partenariat oriental” du 19/10 à la Maison de l'Europe de Paris avec Andrew Wilson, senior…
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with experts Andrew Wilson, Fredrik Wesslau and Gustav Gressel, about rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbass, the Minsk agreement,…
Ukraine was a factor in delaying Johnson’s resignation
Andrew Wilson assesses the relevance of Boris Johnson’s resignation on the war in Ukraine
There is a danger that the West’s solidarity with Ukraine will trump its previous support for the Belarusian opposition. Indeed, the Belarusian democratic movement may find it harder to gain attention
Pavel Slunkin and Andrew Wilson’s analysis on Belarus’ government’s support for Russia on the invasion of Ukraine
This is really the War of the Big Lie. The Lie that Ukraine doesn’t exist. The Lie that Ukraine has no right to full sovereignty because it is a puppet state of the West.
Andrew Wilson gives insight into how the West must handle Putin’s ‘war of the Big Lie’
It is the standard not just Russian but Soviet method: brinkmanship, demand the maximum, don’t concede, extract concessions from the other side
Andrew Wilson on Vladimir Putin’s aggressive stance
They’ve already gained a lot. Now Russia is the center of attention.
Andrew Wilson says the building of tensions to extract concessions was ‘the standard not just Russian but Soviet method.’
