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Biography

Dr Sarah Tzinieris is a Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s. She holds an MPhil and PhD in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Before taking up an academic position she worked at the BBC as a strategist and prior to that in consultancy focusing on political risk, economic development and sustainability. Sarah also served as a UN Security Council Advisor for the European Union Delegation at the United Nations in New York.

The nature of Sarah’s research has evolved significantly over the course of her career, enabling her to take an interdisciplinary and synthesised approach. She is based in the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) at King’s, a multidisciplinary group that conducts scholarly and policy research at the complex nexus of conflict, security and science.

Most recently, Sarah’s research has concentrated on current and emerging challenges to the international order, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region and the AUKUS security pact between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Related to this, she has been supporting the Security & Defence strand of the PLuS Alliance – a partnership between King’s, the University of New South Wales and Arizona State University.

Sarah has also been conducting research on the future of global sanctions, in particular in regard to China’s developing sanctions policy. She previously contributed to a research project on government sanctions and nuclear non-proliferation supported by the MacArthur Foundation. Sarah’s other research has focused on British foreign policy, nuclear non-proliferation, CBRN terrorism and threat reduction. She is a co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Nuclear Security being published by Oxford University Press (OUP).

Sarah previously contributed to the Nuclear Security Culture Programme, funded by the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). This academic-industry programme worked to strengthen non-proliferation and the security of nuclear and radiological materials around the world. Funded by a multi-million pound grant, it formed a key strand of the UK’s Global Nuclear Security Programme (GNSP). Sarah was honoured to receive an invitation to the Royal Garden Party for her contributions to the programme.

Her recent career highlights include giving evidence to the House of Lords inquiry on nuclear disarmament and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and co-editing a briefing book provided to states parties at UN negotiations on the NPT. Sarah also had the opportunity to participate in the Project on Nuclear Issues mid-career programme at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), being nominated to represent the Women in International Security (WIIS) network.

Research

  • International Relations
  • Grand Strategy and world order
  • Indo-Pacific geopolitics
  • Sanctions
  • Nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear security and threat reduction
  • Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism
  • British foreign policy

Publications

A select list of publication is available on Dr Tzinieris’s PURE Profile