Sophie Vériter is a Non-Resident Fellow in the Peace and Security section. She is also a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) of Leiden University and a Europaeum Scholar. She specialises in disinformation and counter-disinformation, European democracy, and global governance. Sophie takes an inter-disciplinary approach to academia, building on her background in law, political science, international relations, and security studies.
Sophie’s doctoral dissertation looks at two sets of questions related to the development of counter-disinformation policies: its origins and its implications for democracy. In her work, she reveals the political strategies to influence their development and examines how they fall within democratic standards by looking at their perceived legitimacy, particularly in Europe. Sophie works as a tutor and lecturer at Leiden University for the Minor in Global Affairs and the Honours Class 'A Better World is Possible: The Future of Human Security and Global Governance'. She is also the Wellbeing, Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Representative (WIDER), a role in which she strives to facilitate dialogue and bottom-up solutions for fundamental factors of progress. Sophie also supports The Hague Journal of Diplomacy as their Book Reviews Editor. Sophie currently pursues the Europaeum Scholars Programme, a multi-disciplinary policy & leadership course to shape the future of Europe. It revolves around multi-university modules in Oxford, Brussels, Luxembourg, Lisbon, Bologna, Geneva, Helsinki, and Berlin. Sophie’s team is developing an original democratic participation model to reconnect citizens, stakeholders, and policy-makers. Sophie regularly participates in expert panels and delivers lectures across Europe, including for the World Press Institute, European Parliament Research Service, NATO Centre of Excellence, European External Action Service, and European Commission. Previously, Sophie contributed to research projects for Europe’s Stories at the University of Oxford, The Hague Program on International Cyber Security. For over two years, she worked for the EU’s public diplomacy programme in the Eastern Partnership countries, where she launched and coordinated the ‘Young European Ambassadors’ initiative. Sophie holds a M.Phil. (merit) in European Politics and Society from the University of Oxford and a B.A. (summa cum laude) in International Affairs from Vesalius College - Brussels School of Governance in Brussels.