
Dr Sam Power
MA, MSc, PhD
Current positions
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I am a leading expert in political financing, electoral regulation and corruption. I have published widely on these themes in both academic and non-academic publications. Recently, I have focused my attention of the way in which AI can be used to enhance the capacities of electoral regulators and improve the oversight that they do.
This work has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council through their Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub and Responsible AI UK. Prior work has also been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
I am a regular media commentator on all aspects of (often British) political life and have conducted over 250 interviews with the BBC (radio and TV), ITV, Sky News, Times Radio, LBC, Heart and TalkRadio/TV. I have also written for outlets such as the Washington Post, the New Statesman, Huffington Post, the Conversation and OpenDemocracy.
My research is driven by finding practical solutions to complex problems and in translating this to the wider public. I have presented written and oral evidence to various parliamentary select committees (most recently the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee). In 2021 I acted as an expert consultant on the Committee on Standards in Public Life's Regulating Election Finance Report, and have also conducted consultancy work for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (on an ad-hoc basis).
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Creating an International Ecosystem for Responsible AI Research and Innovation
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
01/09/2024 to 31/07/2025
Publications
Recent publications
14/03/2024Monitoring digital election campaigns
Politics
Understanding the Modern Election Campaign
Government and Opposition
The Shock of the Old? The Value of Looking Back When Studying the Mercurial World of Political Campaigning
Political Communication
Keeping up with Political Finance in the Digital Age in Albania: Prospects for Greater Regulation and Transparency
Keeping up with Political Finance in the Digital Age in Albania: Prospects for Greater Regulation and Transparency
Mobilizing or Chasing Voters on Facebook? Analysing Echo-Chamber Effects at the UK Parliamentary General Election 2019
Parliamentary affairs