Sam Sharp
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samtsharp.bsky.social
Sam Sharp
@samtsharp.bsky.social
76 followers 110 following 40 posts
Research Fellow @odi.global. Democratic resilience, civic space, political development, #adaptdev. MA Governance, Development and Public Policy.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Sam Sharp
odi.global
As aid budgets get slashed, the development sector faces an unavoidable question: how to deliver meaningful impact with fewer resources?

In a new blog, @samtsharp.bsky.social draws on lessons from the Traction programme in Malawi to show how working politically can achieve results at lower cost.
Surviving the aid cuts: working politically to deliver value at lower cost
As aid cuts begin to hit hard, these rich lessons on how to achieve impact by taking politics seriously and focusing on issues that galvanize people are some of the best tools we have.
odi.org
August 19, 2025 at 11:11 AM
samtsharp.bsky.social
Aid budgets are shrinking and ‘working politically’ may be more important than ever

My new @odi.global blog: odi.org/en/insights/...
August 19, 2025 at 10:00 AM
samtsharp.bsky.social
Revisiting an @odi.global piece I wrote last year, in light of the recent arrests in the UK of those expressing peaceful support for Palestine Action.

odi.org/en/insights/...
The UK’s new definition of extremism is a dangerous anti-democratic move
The new definition will impact women and minority groups the hardest, and sets a dangerous precedent for democracy.
odi.org
July 24, 2025 at 3:35 PM
samtsharp.bsky.social
Fantastic documentary on the inspirational Prof. Gyimah-Boadi @afrobarometer.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LiV...
Democracy Influencer
YouTube video by Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
www.youtube.com
June 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
samtsharp.bsky.social
Four striking charts from the 2025 Democracy Perception Index, launched at the glossy Copenhagen Democracy Summit @aodemocracies.bsky.social #DefendDemocracy @odi.global

www.niradata.com/dpi
Nira Data – DPI Report
The Democracy Perception Index (DPI) is a cornerstone of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, providing the most comprehensive global snapshot of public opinion on democracy.
www.niradata.com
May 13, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
fromagehomme.bsky.social
Fascinating work from @samtsharp.bsky.social and Ayesha Khan on the role played by women's movements in the fight for democracy around the world.

Essential reading
April 11, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
gamblingondev.bsky.social
Making cup cakes and vanilla coffees great again.

2nd top tariff (47%) on Madagascar ( extreme poverty 80%)

to punish them for selling vanilla (production 3000 tons, top export to US).

instead of hockey mums buying from US producers (production 0.2 tons).
April 3, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
What can the U.S. learn from other countries living through threats to democracy? Lessons from our global research and 15 case studies distilled in my new commentary with @beattyriedl.bsky.social Ken Roberts, and @muratsomer-eng.bsky.social include: (1/3)
goodauthority.org/news/us-demo...
U.S. democracy is under attack. Here are some lessons for democracy’s defenders.
A global study of democratic backsliding and resilience offers ways to resist authoritarian attacks.
goodauthority.org
April 1, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
dadakim.bsky.social
Want to know more about how democratic backsliding happens and how to counter it? See this fully open access issue of AAPSS, co-edited by @beattyriedl.bsky.social, Jennifer McCoy, Ken Roberts, and Murat Somer: journals.sagepub.com/toc/anna/712/1
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
March 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
kopalo.bsky.social
This cartoonish understanding of political development is actually quite common. Especially among evangelists of “Strong Western Institutions.”

You’ve just got rid of Saddam Hussein and seek stability? Just add a liberal constitution and elections and stir.
lollardfish.bsky.social David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · Mar 19
No no it's true. After the Magna Carta, everything has been great, much law, total rule. No notes.
March 19, 2025 at 4:34 AM
samtsharp.bsky.social
My new @odi.global paper with Ayesha Khan is out.

From Argentina to Pakistan, we show how women's movements are central to the fight for democracy.

A short thread on our findings below...

odi.org/en/publicati...
How women's movements lead demands for democracy in the face of backlash and politicised religion
This report underscores how women’s movements are leading the push for democratic governance and inclusion, particularly in contexts of eroding civic space or where democracies are increasingly author...
odi.org
March 18, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
lmorgenbesser.bsky.social
PUBLISHED! Forget talk of a coup or self-coup, Musk's siege of America's vast federal bureaucracy is a form of state capture. It fits seamlessly with Trump's authoritarianism.

I suspect this will be the most important thing I ever say about American politics.

theconversation.com/is-elon-musk...
Is Elon Musk taking over the US government? Here’s how ‘state capture’ works – and why we should be concerned
Elon Musk has been accused of attempting a coup or hostile takeover of the US government. His actions could better be described as a form of ‘state capture’. Here’s what that means.
theconversation.com
February 12, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
kopalo.bsky.social
Institutions are not self-executing. Enough people must be willing to do the right thing by the rules.
February 11, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
Someone at the American Bar Association ate their Wheaties this morning.
ABA It has been three weeks since Inauguration Day. Most Americans recognize that newly elected leaders bring change. That is expected. But most Americans also expect that changes will take place in accordance with the rule of law and in an orderly manner that respects the lives of affected individuals and the work they have been asked to perform. Instead, we see wide-scale affronts to the rule of law itself, such as attacks on constitutionally protected birthright citizenship, the dismantling of USAID and the attempts to criminalize those who support lawful programs to eliminate bias and enhance diversity. We have seen attempts at wholesale dismantling of departments and entities created by Congress without seeking the required congressional approval to change the law. There are efforts to dismiss employees with little regard for the law and protections they merit, and social media announcements that disparage and appear to be motivated by a desire to inflame without any stated factual basis. This is chaotic. It may appeal to a few. But it is wrong. And most Americans recognize it is wrong. It is also contrary to the rule of law. The American Bar Association supports the rule of law. That means holding governments, including our own, accountable under law. We stand for a legal process that is orderly and fair. We have consistently urged the administrations of both parties to adhere to the rule of law. We stand in that familiar place again today. And we do not stand alone. Our courts stand for the rule of law as well.
February 10, 2025 at 8:32 PM
samtsharp.bsky.social
Useful explainer on the conflict in eastern Congo from @ethuin.bsky.social

Including on the overemphasis on lust for minerals as the key motivation for conflict, a view 'rooted in false, outdated assumptions that greed alone drives war in eastern Congo'.

www.armedgroupscentre.org/m23drc-vogel
www.armedgroupscentre.org
February 5, 2025 at 10:14 AM
samtsharp.bsky.social
Lessons for the US from the battles to defend democracy in central and eastern Europe:

- protect civic institutions: not just political but cultural
- 'dodge the trap of mirroring the political tactics of those in power'

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Europeans on democracy’s frontlines offer advice to Americans: never give up
With the new Trump era likely to pose unprecedented challenges the message from Europe’s fragile democracies is: stay united and safeguard your institutions
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
thrh.bsky.social
Government needs to get a grip of its climate hypocrisy as it simultaneously weighs up approving an oilfield in the UK (because growth)
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

and withdrawing financing for a natural gas project in Mozambique. on.ft.com/40KwXop

UK's GDPpc is more than 30x Mozambique's.
PM faces growing internal backlash over potential approval of Rosebank oilfield
Labour MPs describe ‘breaking point’ in relations, calling for Keir Starmer to stand by party’s manifesto commitments
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2025 at 10:33 AM
samtsharp.bsky.social
'Alcoholics Anonymous is an anarchist fairy tale that somehow became the backbone of addiction treatment worldwide. I am not a political theorist, but if I was I would literally never stop talking about this.'

www.ft.com/content/edeb...
Confessions of the world’s most elite sober coach
How Tony Dominguez can rescue almost anybody from the most degraded, reckless moment of their life
www.ft.com
February 4, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
zecsaky.bsky.social
Let’s look at the implications of the US funding freeze on international democracy support and what this means for the EU. 🧵
January 29, 2025 at 5:54 PM
samtsharp.bsky.social
Resistance, diaspora and sport's soft power: 'The first match by the Afghan women’s cricket team is placing the Taliban under additional diplomatic pressure.'

thediplomat.com/2025/01/afgh...
Afghan Women’s Cricket Team Makes Their Debut – in Melbourne
The first match by the Afghan women’s cricket team is placing the Taliban under additional diplomatic pressure.
thediplomat.com
January 31, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by Sam Sharp
manoelgehrke.bsky.social
🚨Just launched: #DemocracyDeepDive 🗳️🌍

Building on emerging literature and a range of recent real-world cases, @fromagehomme.bsky.social, Marie-Eve Desrosiers, Licia Cianetti and I distill some lessons to help rethink and strengthen democratic resilience.

@europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu
europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu European Democracy Hub @europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu · Dec 11
📚 How to strengthen #DemocraticResilience?

Over the past 20 years, democracy has experienced a recession that left no region of the world untouched.

This #DemocracyDeepDive offers 5 lessons about how to reconceptualise and defend democratic resilience.

Check it out 👇
ow.ly/FnUv50UnEnY
December 13, 2024 at 7:58 AM
samtsharp.bsky.social
What do global cases and literature on 'democratic resilience' suggest for the future of American democracy under a second Trump presidency?

My new @odi.global blog: odi.org/en/insights/...
Can American democracy withstand Trump?
Are American democratic institutions resilient to a President with anti-democratic tendencies, elected for a second time with a stronger mandate? What factors will determine this, and what lessons can...
odi.org
December 12, 2024 at 2:21 PM