Dr. Sarah E. Sharma

Office hours

Summer office hours: by appointment.

Interests

• international political economy
• global environmental governance
• global displacements
• global finance and private authority
• urban governance
• intersectional inequalities
• global north-global south relations
• resilience
• political ecology

About Dr. Sharma

Sarah E. Sharma is an assistant professor of international relations in the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria. She received her PhD in political pcience from Queen’s University and her MA in politics from the University of Manchester. Before joining the University of Victoria, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. Prior to her PhD, she worked at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in New York City.

She is a co-director for Climate Change and Security with the federally-funded research network Réseau d’analyse stratégique (RAS). In 2022, she was the chair of the Women & Inclusivity in Sustainable Energy Research (WISER) Network. 

Dr. Sharma’s research considers the global political economy of environmental governance. She is particularly interested in the interconnections between global governance processes and daily livelihoods in the context of socio-economic and socio-environmental inequality, both across and within the global North and global South. Her present book manuscript project examines the aims and outcomes of climate resilience at the urban scale in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her ongoing research projects examine the politics and outcomes of philanthropic urban resilience networks, financial power in climate related infrastructures such as renewable energy and the politics of climate security.

She has published in outlets such as Review of International Political Economy, International Affairs, New Political Economy, Urban Geography and Geoforum and her research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada’s Department of National Defence, the University of Victoria and Mitacs amongst others.

Professor Sharma teaches in the areas of international political economy, global environmental governance, international relations, global development and political ecology.

Teaching

Dr. Sharma teaches courses on international relations.

Teaching 2023-24

Fall 2023:

• POLI 344: International Political Economy

Spring 2024:

• POLI 240: International Politics
• POLI 441/541 - International Political Economy and the Environment (Seminar)

Publications

Refereed journal articles

• Babić, M. and Sharma, S. E. (2023). "Mobilizing Critical Global Political Economy for the Age of Climate Breakdown". New Political Economy.
• Sharma, S. E. (2022). "Governing Urban Flood Resilience in Amsterdam: Conflicting Urbanism and Climate Action." Review of International Political Economy. 
• Martel, S., Mustapha, J., and Sharma, S. E. (2022). The WPS Agenda in East and Southeast Asia: Understanding an Emerging Field of Discourse and Practice. International Affairs, 98(2), 727–746.
• Sharma, S. E. (2021). Down and Out in Dhaka: Understanding land financialization and displacement in austerity urbanism. Urban Geography, 42(5), 681-700.
• Sharma, S. E. (2021). Reactive, Individualistic, and Disciplinary: The Urban Resilience Project in Dhaka. New Political Economy, 26(6), 1078-1091. 
• Sharma, S., and Soederberg, S. (2020). Redesigning the Business of Development: The case of the World Economic Forum and global risk management. Review of International Political Economy, 27(4), 828-854.

Book chapters

• Sharma, S. E., and Soederberg, S. (2022). 'Understanding Land in Development Studies.' Forthcoming in the Companion to Development Studies, Vandana Desai, Emil Dauncey, & Alasdair Pinkerton (Eds.), London: Routledge.
• Tawakkol, L., Bhagat, A., and Sharma, S. 'Governing the displaced: Contradictory constellations of actors, ideas and strategies,' in The Handbook of Displacement, Peter Adey, Janet Bowstead, Katherine Brickell, Vandana Desai, Mike Dolton, Alasdair Pinkerton, Ayesha Siddiqi (Eds.), London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Refereed reports

• Martel, S., Mustapha, J., and Sharma, S. E. (2021). 'Contrasted Meanings and Practices of Gender, Peace, and Security in the Asia-Pacific: A Multi-Scalar Regional Analysis.' Report, Defense and Security Foresight (DSF) Group, University of Waterloo. 

Reports & policy briefs

• Sharma, S. E. (2022). 'How Canada can Effectively Engage in Gender-Based Analysis "Plus" for Security Forecasting.' Forthcoming Policy Brief, Defense and Security Foresight (DSF) Group, University of Waterloo.
• Sharma, S. E., Shaheen, H., and Litrico, J.-B. (2021). 'Assessing Regional Economic Resilience in Eastern Ontario: A Comprehensive, Context-Based, and Continuous Approach.' A policy report commissioned by The Eastern Ontario Leadership Council (EOLC).
• Sharma, S. (2020). 'The "Crisis" in the rules-based international order: recommendations for Canadian engagement.' Policy Brief, Defense and Security Foresight (DSF) Group, University of Waterloo.
• Boucher, V., Curtis, G., Finn, M., and Sharma, S. (2020). 'NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP): considering Canada’s operations in Latvia and additional engagement opportunities.' Policy Brief, Defense and Security Foresight (DSF) Group, University of Waterloo.

Policy analysis, opinion & public outreach

• Sharma, S. E., Janzwood, A., and Kaiser, C. (2022). "Four steps to jump-start Canadian climate policy," Policy Options, December 19.
• WISER Steering Committee (of which I chair). (2021). "Women & Inclusivity in Sustainable Energy Research" – what it does, how to get involved,” Environmental Politics blog, 8 March. 
• Sharma, S. E., and Hoffmann, M. (2021). "How to build support for ambitious climate action in 4 steps," The Conversation, 4 March.