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Sam Sharp

@samtsharp.bsky.social
77 followers 108 following 40 posts

Research Fellow @odi.global. Democratic resilience, civic space, political development, #adaptdev. MA Governance, Development and Public Policy.

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Reposted by Sam Sharp
ODI Global @odi.global · 19/08/2025
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.
odi.org
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.
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Aid budgets are shrinking and ‘working politically’ may be more important than ever My new @odi.global blog: odi.org/en/insights/...
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
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/...
odi.org
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.
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Fantastic documentary on the inspirational Prof. Gyimah-Boadi @afrobarometer.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LiV...
youtube.com
Democracy Influencer
YouTube video by Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
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
niradata.com
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.
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Prof Nic Cheeseman @fromagehomme.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
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
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Stefan Dercon @gamblingondev.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
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).
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Jennifer McCoy @jennifermccoy.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
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...
goodauthority.org
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.
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
kim yi dionne (she/her) @dadakim.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
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
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Ken Opalo @kopalo.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
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.
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
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...
odi.org
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...
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
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...
theconversation.com
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.
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Ken Opalo @kopalo.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Institutions are not self-executing. Enough people must be willing to do the right thing by the rules.
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
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.
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
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
armedgroupscentre.org
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
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...
theguardian.com
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
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Tom Hart @thrh.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
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.
theguardian.com
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
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
'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...
ft.com
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
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Zselyke Csaky @zecsaky.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Let’s look at the implications of the US funding freeze on international democracy support and what this means for the EU. 🧵
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
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...
thediplomat.com
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.
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Reposted by Sam Sharp
Manoel Gehrke @manoelgehrke.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
🚨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
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Sam Sharp @samtsharp.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
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/...
odi.org
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...
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