Sophie Haspeslagh is a lecturer in International Relations in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. Dr Haspeslagh’s research on the impact of proscription (or the act of listing a group as terrorist organisation) on peace processes has opened a new field of academic inquiry in international relations and negotiations. Her monograph, Proscribing peace: how listing armed groups as terrorists hurts negotiations (Manchester University Press, 2021), won the British International Studies Association L.H.M Ling Outstanding First Book Prize (2022). The concept she developed of the ‘linguistic ceasefire’ has shaped a new understanding of negotiations with proscribed actors and has gained significant traction. Dr Haspeslagh won the King’s Faculty of SSPP Impact Prize in March 2024 in recognition of how the term is being used by other scholars and in the policy-making world.

Dr Haspeslagh is currently a Co-Investigator on a 2026 BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant entitled ‘Everyday Security: Proscription, civil society and advocacy right in the UK’ in collaboration with Dr Kodili Chukwuma from Durham University. The project examines how advocacy groups in the UK understand, experience, and evaluate proscription. It is the first cross-organisational study of proscription, utilising semi-structured interviews and focus groups with civil society organisations across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Dr Haspeslagh is also currently developing a new strand of research on the international relations of non-state armed groups.

Previously, Dr Haspeslagh was an assistant professor at the American University in Cairo between 2020 and 2022. She was also the head of policy at Conciliation Resources until August 2012. She has also worked for various organizations including the International Crisis Group and the United Nations in Algiers, Bogotá, Brussel, London, and Rome. She holds a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master's in International Relations from SAIS Johns Hopkins University.

Dr Haspeslagh is an Associate Editor for Critical Studies on Terrorism and is the co-Chair of the KCL Research Centre in International Relations (RCIR).

Research Interests

• (Critical) Security and Terrorism

• Negotiations and mediation

• Transition of non-state armed groups

• International relations of non-state actors

Teaching

Sophie has designed and taught modules on:

• 7SSWN369 Negotiation and Mediation

• 5SSW0025 International Organisation (with Dr Elif Kalaycioglu)

As former programme director of the MA in International Conflict Studies she co-taught the core module:

• 7SSWN404 Critical Approaches to Conflict and Security

Doctoral supervision

Dr Haspeslagh welcomes PhD applications that develop critical engagements with conflict, security and peace practices, particularly related to the transitions of non-state armed actors. Please email me your CV and a 1-page overview proposal.

Current students:

• Rebecca Davies, The Effect of Conflict Actors’ Use of ICTs in Peace Processes

• Olivia Macharis, How Worldviews Shape Mediation and Peacemaking: Conceptual Insights from China

Recent publications

Monograph

Haspeslagh, S. Proscribing Peace: How the international listing of armed groups as terrorists is affecting negotiations, Manchester University Press. Hardback 2021; Paperback 2023. ISBN: 9781526157591.

Journal Articles

Lundgren, M., Haspeslagh, S., Nilsson, D., Svensson, I. “Bargaining with the Banned? The Impact of Terrorist Designations on Mediation in Civil Wars”, British Journal of Political Science, accepted in August 2026. DX.DOI:10.2139/ssrn.7358318

Haspeslagh, S. 2025. “What happens to the terrorists?”, European Journal of International Security 10(1): 27-39. DOI: 10.1017/eis.2024.47

Haspeslagh, S. 2021. “The ‘linguistic ceasefire’: Negotiating in an age of proscription”, Security Dialogue 52(4): 361-379. DOI: 10.1177/0967010620952610

Haspeslagh, S. 2020. “The Mediation Dilemma of (Not) Talking to Terrorists”, Swiss Political Science Review 26: 425-445. DOI: 10.1111/spsr.12418

Haspeslagh, S. 2013. “Listing terrorists”: The Impact of Proscription on Third-Party Efforts to Engage Armed Groups in Peace Processes – a Practitioner’s Perspective”, Critical Studies on Terrorism 6 (1): 189-208. DOI: 10.1080/17539153.2013.765706

Peer-Reviewed Symposia

Aitlhadja, L., Finden, A., Haspeslagh, S., Kaleem, A., Khan, R.K., Salhab, A. 2024. “Where is Palestine in Critical Terrorism Studies? A roundtable conversation”, Critical Studies on Terrorism 17(3): 437-462. DOI:10.1080/17539153.2024.2362966

Book Chapters

Haspeslagh, S. 2022. “Infréquentables terroristes ? Le « cessez-le-feu linguistique » en Colombie (2010-2012)”. In Manon-Nour Tannous (ed.) Fréquenter les infréquentables. Paris: CNRS éditions, Biblis, pp. 197-218. EAN : 9782271126252

Haspeslagh, S. and I. W. Zartman. 2022. “The role of narratives in negotiations: The case of the FARC and Colombia”. In F. O. Hampson and A. Narlikar (eds.) International Negotiation and Political Narratives. London: Routledge, pp. 146-160. ISBN: 9781032066462