Ian Ralby, J.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Ian Ralby is a globally recognized expert in seven main areas: 1) maritime law and security, especially identifying and addressing evolving threats; 2) maritime domain awareness and the leveraging of different technologies and data sources for analyzing the maritime space; 3) countering innovative and emerging forms of hostility including hybrid aggression, lawfare and “unlawfare,” 4) maritime strategy that integrates security, governance and the maritime economy; 5) recognizing and countering resource-related crimes; 6) regulating, governing, and overseeing private security companies; and 7) certain aspects of international law including the legal regimes around floating armories, protection of submarine cables and the use of force by armed contractors.
Dr. Ralby is the president of Auxilium Worldwide, a charitable nonprofit that works to support global harmony and maintains a consultancy, I.R. Consilium, focused on maritime and resource security. He is an Associate Fellow of the International Law Programme at Chatham House, a Senior Fellow at several institutions including the Center for Maritime Strategy, and the Yokosuka Council on Asia Pacific Security (YCAPS) and a member of The World in 2050 Expert Network. He previously served in different capacities at the US Naval War College, the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS), the Institute for Security Governance (ISG), the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Global Maritime Crime Program.
Having worked in more than 100 different countries, Dr. Ralby maintains close relationships with leading professionals around the world in a variety of different disciplines. He is a frequent news commentator on geopolitical events and he continues to serve as an expert advisor to and consultant for various government agencies, international organizations, and private sector entities. He earned a B.A. in Modern Languages and Linguistics and an M.A. in Intercultural Communication from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; a J.D. at William and Mary where he was a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar; and both an M.Phil. in International Relations and a Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge where he was a Gates Scholar.