Dr. Sarah E. Sharma

Sarah E. Sharma is an Assistant Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria. She is also the 2022 Chair of Women and Inclusivity in Sustainable Energy Research (WISER).

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. Dr. Sharma’s present book manuscript project examines the aims and outcomes of climate resilience as a policy framework tackling urban flooding in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Dhaka, Bangladesh.  She also collaborates with Drs. Matthew Hoffmann and Laura Tozer (University of Toronto, Scarborough), Christopher Gore (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Michele Betsill (University of Copenhagen) on a project examining the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Network. Her upcoming research project engages with the contemporary role of private financial actors in global environmental governance.

Dr. Sharma earned her PhD from the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University where she was a SSHRC Vanier Scholar (2021), her MA from the University of Manchester (2015) and her BAH from Queen’s University. Prior to her appointment at the University of Victoria in 2022, Professor Sharma held a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, Scarborough (2021-2022). Dr. Sharma has also worked as an economic affairs consultant for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the New York City office (2015-2016).

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

• 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

Dr. Sharma teaches courses on International Relations

Teaching 2022-23

Fall 2022:

• POLI 344 - International Political Economy

Spring 2023:

• POLI 240 - International Politics
• POLI 433/533 - Issues in Politics: "International Political Economy and the Environment" (Seminar)

Refereed Journal Articles

Sharma, S. E. (2022). Governing Urban Flood Resilience in Amsterdam: Conflicting Urbanism and Climate Action. Review of International Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2022.2100449

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 and 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 and Public Outreach

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, https://environmentalpoliticsjournal.net/interviews/women-inclusivity-in-sustainable-energy-research-what-it-does-how-to-get-involved-iwd-wiser-network/

Sharma, S. E., and Hoffmann, M. (2021). "How to build support for ambitious climate action in 4 steps," The Conversation, 4 March, https://theconversation.com/how-to-build-support-for-ambitious-climate-action-in-4-steps-155636