Winning the Influence War Against China
“Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order curtailing U.S. high-tech investment in China, reflecting a bipartisan consensus…
Patrick Quirk, Ph.D., serves as Vice President for Strategy, Innovation, and Impact at IRI. In this role, Dr. Quirk provides the leadership, management, and vision to ensure that IRI is addressing global challenges to democracy by developing innovative and evidence-based programs, tools, and resources. He leads IRI’s organization-wide strategic planning as well as oversees institutional efforts on monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL).
Dr. Quirk also oversees the Center for Global Impact, the 60-person team of thematic experts, researchers, and global project staff who help IRI monitor and develop innovative approaches to priority technical areas—from countering foreign authoritarian influence and combatting corruption, to strengthening political parties. Previously, he served as IRI’s Senior Director for Strategy, Research, and the Center for Global Impact.
Concurrent to serving at IRI, Dr. Quirk is a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. From 2019-2021, he was a Nonresident Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program of the Brookings Institution.
Before joining IRI, Dr. Quirk served on the U.S. Secretary of State’s Policy Planning staff in the Department of State as the lead advisor for fragile states, conflict and stabilization, and foreign assistance. Prior to Policy Planning, he served in State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) as Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy. In this capacity, he was the chief political scientist for and a lead author of the 2018 U.S. Stabilization Assistance Review (SAR). During his government service, Dr. Quirk received several Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.
Prior to joining the Department of State, he was a Research Fellow at the German Marshall Fund as well as designed and implemented conflict prevention and democracy strengthening foreign assistance interventions overseas. His analysis has appeared in The American Interest, American Purpose, Just Security, Foreign Policy, the Financial Times, The National Interest, NPR, and Real Clear Defense, among other outlets.
Dr. Quirk earned a B.A. in History from Bates College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University.
Authored Content
Maximizing US Foreign Aid for Strategic Competitio…
“The United States has reshaped how it uses military and economic tools to compete with China, Russia, and other adversaries.…
Why the Next Democracy Summit Must Go Beyond Civil…
“Democracy was on the agenda at last week’s White House meeting between U.S. president Joe Biden and Brazilian president Luiz…
IRI Names Patrick Quirk Vice President for Strateg…
Washington, DC – Today, the International Republican Institute (IRI) announced that Patrick Quirk, PhD., has been named Vice President for…
Advancing a Framework for the Stabilization and Re…
“Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war on Ukraine has shattered peace on the European continent and created tectonic shifts in the…
Strengthening Democracy With the Global Fragility …
“Planning teams from across the U.S. government are racing to begin implementing the long-awaited Global Fragility Act (GFA), after the…
Democracy as a Vital Interest: A Realist Approach …
“Pursuing a realist foreign policy and promoting democracy are not mutually exclusive goals but, instead, are reinforcing and responsive to…
Diplomatic Interventions and Mitigating Electoral …
Introduction Electoral violence is a recurring challenge in countries around the globe, one that can imperil US political, diplomatic, and…
Authored External Content
The National Interest
How the Biden Doctrine Should Tackle Fragile States
In many ways, pursuing cooperation on fragile states could be low-hanging fruit for beginning to…
The National Interest
The Next Push for Democracy Has to Be Different
The United States does a disservice to the places it seeks to help when it does not customize its approach to context.
American Purpose
As Democracy Goes, So Goes Climate
Working on the climate problem requires working on the undemocratic regimes that exacerbate it.
Just Security
Want the Summit for Democracy to Develop Solutions? Include Local Governments
The Biden administration has committed to organizing a “Summit for Democracy” to…
Brookings
How the United States can select and work with nonstate armed actors as stabilization partners
From Central America to Mozambique, the Biden administration faces challenges emanating from fragile states.
Brookings
Why and how the National Security Strategy should address fragile states
The Biden administration’s initial foreign policy priorities are coming into focus: combating climate change…
The Hill
How the United States can protect democracy from China and Russia
The administration has made bolstering democracy abroad a key foreign policy priority.
Brookings
The Democracy Summit must be paired with a democracy strategy
The Biden administration has rhetorically placed strengthening democracy abroad at the center of its foreign policy.
Brookings
Why supporting resilient political systems is key to a successful Biden democracy agenda
Strengthening democracy abroad is a priority for the Biden administration, evident in its commitment to hold a “summit of democracies” to galvanize…
Brookings
How the Biden administration can get the Global Fragility Strategy right
The Biden administration will face a multiplicity of challenges on day one.
Brookings
Strengthening citizen-centered governance should be a core element of the Biden administration’s democracy agenda
There are indications that President-elect Joe Biden intends to make supporting democracy a key element of his administration’s foreign policy.
American Purpose
Parties Onward
Political parties remain part and parcel of democracy, yet they are under stress in the West and farther afield. Two close observers offer a roadmap for supporting them.
Brookings
A democracy assistance agenda for the Biden administration
The Biden administration will take office at a time when democracy is being tested across the world.
Financial Times
U.S. Foreign Policy Will Put Governance Centre Stage
Janan Ganesh (“Biden’s foreign policy should steer clear of missionary idealism”, Opinion, November 25) misunderstands how the US and other allies support democracy overseas.
Financial Times
Coup Events in Africa are in Steady Decline
Like David Pilling (“Is the coup making a comeback in Africa?”, Opinion, August 28) we agree that the answer to the question is no.
Brookings
Want to reduce global fragility? Empower civil society
COVID-19 is acting as an accelerant for instability and unrest worldwide.
Real Clear Defense
Want Better Strategists? Start With a Better Definition of Strategy
A strategy is a theory of success. Other definitions of strategy abound but are unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons.
American Interest
Winning the Great Power Competition Post-Pandemic
As the virus disrupts comfortable illusions and accelerates historical trends, the United States must lead the free world in shaping a more democratic global order.
Brookings
Contested stabilization: Competing in post-conflict spaces
The COVID-19 pandemic is stressing health, political, and economic systems globally.
Brookings
The global fragility strategy: Posturing the United States for a reshaping world order
The coronavirus pandemic is poised to exacerbate fragility and violence worldwide.
The Hill
Democracy will win this battle
A strategy is a theory of success. Other definitions of strategy abound but are unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons.
Brookings
Stabilizing Cameroon requires a sustained solution for democracy, rights, and governance
As regional and international partners focus on countering Boko Haram in West Africa’s Lake Chad Region…
Brookings
Creating a political strategy for stabilizing fragile states
The recently concluded Berlin Conference on the continuing civil war in Libya illustrates the drawback of current approaches to stabilization.
World Politics review
Why Fighting Corruption Is Key in a ‘New Era of Great-Power Competition’
The Trump administration is due to soon formally release its findings from a review of U.S. foreign assistance programs…
The Hill
Want to prevail against China? Prioritize democracy assistance
The United States is reshaping how it uses foreign aid in order to compete with China.
US Department of State
Stabilization Assistance Review: A Framework for Maximizing the Effectiveness of U.S. Government Efforts To Stabilize Conflict-Affected Areas
In early 2018, Department of State, USAID, and Department of Defense approved the Stabilization Assistance Review (SAR) as a new framework to best leverage our diplomatic…