“Christine is a real pro – solid in her research, hard-working, and consistent in her application of sound research principles even in difficult environments.”
Craig Charney, President, Charney Research
Political Analysis with Context
A former US political strategist, Christine Quirk has been working in Democracy, Rights and Governance (DRG) programming since landing in Baku as NDI’s Country Director in 2004. There, she oversaw civil society, election and political party programs in the run-up to the controversial 2005 parliamentary election. The GONGOs, phantom election monitors, pre-election manipulation of and crackdown on civil society and western governments’ tepid reactions she observed there have become standard operating procedure in developing and stable democracies alike. Managed democracy has become a model. She draws on more than two decades working in complex environments to produce accessible and incisive analyses of these dynamics to inform program development.
Identifying Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing World
Having lived or worked in Ukraine, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Russia, Poland and Serbia, she has seen first-hand how democratic gains have eroded under pressure from populism and corruption. Influenced by algorithmically-targeted domestic and foreign messaging, public opinion on democracy and political parties is shifting. Democracy practitioners need to understand how to adapt campaigns and programming to these new realities.
What political forces are in charge? Which ones are in decline? Who is ascendant? Why? Christine is skilled in using tools such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, online methodologies, surveys and social media mapping to evaluate the landscape that shapes programming. Skillful analysis of such data can alert practitioners to subtle shifts in the political environment that may present challenges and opportunities for DRG, advocacy and businesses alike.
With Experience Comes Insight
Christine’s broad experience as a political practitioner gives her context and the ability to ask the right questions to gain deeper insight of local and regional dynamics. She has conducted multiple assessments of the political environments in Ukraine and Serbia that have provided strategic guidance to major funders, such as USAID, looking for future programming opportunities.
