Richard Isaac Bruce CIE (1840-1926) was an English colonial officer and administrator serving on India's North West Frontier during the early period of the British Raj.

He is notable as the author of The Forward Policy and its Results (1900), part mémoire and biography, part argument supporting a 'Forward Policy' espoused and practised locally by Bruce's superior, Robert Groves Sandeman.

[1] Like many landlords of the time, the interests of the Bruce's had been badly damaged by the Great Famine, denying the youngest son the opportunity of a profession and causing him to look instead to empire service.

[2] He served on the staff of Robert Groves Sandeman; in the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878-9; on the North West Frontier of India at Daulatzai, 1884; and in the Zhob Valley Expedition of 1890 which led to the opening of the Gomal Pass in the same year.

[3] He took on the work of Sandeman on his death in 1892, seeking to extend British influence across the Durand Line by supporting and influencing key tribal leaders - a system which had worked successfully with the Baluch tribes-people, who maintained a hierarchical authority system.