Michael Sharpe

Research Interests: Comparative politics and international relations; Japanese politics; politics of migration; immigrant political incorporation; and political transnationalism

Michael Orlando Sharpe is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at York College of the City University of New York. He holds the Ph.D. and Master of Philosophy in Political Science from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. Additionally, Dr. Sharpe holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a Graduate Diploma in International Law and Organization for Development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers College / Rutgers University. Prior to coming to York College/CUNY, Dr. Sharpe was a senior research associate at the Howard Samuels Center at the CUNY Graduate Center. Before these more recent experiences, Dr. Sharpe was employed as a political analyst for the Consulate General of Japan in New York and earlier in Tokyo, Japan as a project coordinator for the United Nations affiliated non-governmental organization the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) of which he is now serves as a member of its board of directors. Dr. Sharpe’s areas of expertise are comparative politics and international relations and his research interests concern looking comparatively at the politics of migration, immigrant political incorporation, and political transnationalism in the Netherlands, Japan, and around the world. He published his first book entitled Postcolonial Citizens and Ethnic Migration: The Netherlands and Japan in the Age of Globalization. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) Some of his recent work has appeared in the scholarly peer reviewed journals Japanese Journal of Political Science, Policy and Society, Dialectical Anthropology, encyclopedias, and popular media. Dr. Sharpe has given guest lectures and presentations about his work at several venues including Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Amsterdam, NL, Institute of Social Studies, NL, Sophia University, Japan, University of Tsukuba, Japan, Villanova University, Japan Local Government Center (CLAIR), University of Manchester, UK, Southern Methodist University, Stanford University, University of Aruba, University of Curacao, and Keio University, Japan and regularly presents at professional meetings. He has been interviewed about his work on Dutch radio and given presentations about it to Japanese government officials. Dr. Sharpe is currently a Mansfield Foundation and Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Program Scholar.