Ben joined the IISS in July 2021 from Macquarie University in Sydney where he was Professor of Strategic Studies and Head of the Department of Security Studies and Criminology. He was previously also a Senior Analyst for Defence Strategy at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI); Senior Lecturer at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) at the Australian National University (ANU); and Senior Researcher for defence policy at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin.
He holds a master's and a PhD in political science from the University of Kiel. He is also a Honorary Professor of Strategic Studies at Macquarie University. Ben has published widely on matters of German defence policy, NATO and Indo-Pacific strategic affairs. He has contributed to and edited major IISS publications, including most recently the IISS Strategic Dossiers Progress and Shortfalls in European Defence: An Assessment (2025) and Building Defence Capacity in Europe: An Assessment (2025); and the IISS Report on Defending Europe Without the United States: Costs and Consequences (2025). He also authored the IISS Report More or Less? European Defence Engagement in the Indo-Pacific in the Second Trump Administration (2025).