Papers by Scott Edwards
When the UK leaves the European Union the complex
intergovernmental arrangements that for forty ... more When the UK leaves the European Union the complex
intergovernmental arrangements that for forty years
regulated the usage of, and traffic through, its waters
will revert to a national responsibility. Britain’s maritime
sector will confront novel regulatory and enforcement
challenges against a spectrum of rapidly evolving
risks to its sea-lanes, fishing grounds and marine
infrastructures, such as illegal fishing, human trafficking,
terrorism and organised crime.
The UK faces three critical challenges in this area: first,
the need to respond effectively to a complex security
environment, with important transnational dimensions;
second the need to address the current patchiness of
capacity amongst different geographic spaces and
regions; and finally, the need to address problems of
fragmentation and compartmentalisation between
the multiple departments and agencies tasked with delivering UK maritime security. These challenges are likely
to intensify in consequence of the Brexit process, when
key collective EU maritime governance arrangements
will either cease to apply or be subject to transformative
revision.
The University of Bristol and the SafeSeas network held
an IdeasLab on maritime security in Bristol on 28 February 2020 to identify responses and priorities for policy
and research. Participants from all major UK maritime
security agencies attended, as did academics represent�ing disciplines ranging from international law to security
studies. This Policy Report summarises the findings of
the IdeasLab and outlines key policy implications for UK
government and other maritime stakeholders.
On 9th May, 2018, Malaysia underwent a transformative election, as the party that has dominated t... more On 9th May, 2018, Malaysia underwent a transformative election, as the party that has dominated the government for six decades, “Pertubuhan Kebansaan Melayu Bersatu” (UMNO – United Malays National Organisation), and their “Barisan Nasional” (BN - National Front) coalition, lost for the first time since Malaysian independence. The new government, formed by the “Pakatan Harapan” (PH - Alliance of Hope) coalition, faces serious obstacles in realising a meaningful transformation.
This report will argue that BN, and particularly the main party, UMNO, has faced weakening legitimacy over the previous two decades. As will be demonstrated, this finally resulted in their election loss as this weakening was exacerbated by perceptions surrounding corruption scandals. Corruption has been a part of Malaysian society, and particularly the political arena, for many years. What is different in this election, however, is that the public are more aware of, and concerned about, scandals such One Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) and SRC International. This concern and awareness comes from five factors; the scale of corruption; the scale of personal enrichment on the behalf of political leaders; a stagnation in quality of living and unpopular economic policies; the international dimension and the potential role of foreign money; and the role of social media in propagating these issues.
This decline in legitimacy came at a time where the opposition was particularly well organised. The strength of the PH opposition, with reform minded leaders such as Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah and Lim Guen Eng under Former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir’s leadership, allowed PH to capitalise on UMNO’s misfortunes.Their future success, however, depends on their ability to ‘bury-the-hatchet’ and work together despite potential difficulties and problematic relationships in the past.
The Indonesian “haze” that engulfs Southeast Asia is a result
of the burning of forests and has a... more The Indonesian “haze” that engulfs Southeast Asia is a result
of the burning of forests and has a detrimental effect on the health of millions of people. Indonesia is currently the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. In response to the dangers posed by forest fires to national and global environmental security, the then Indonesian
president publicly declared a “war on haze” in 2006 and called for the use of all necessary measures to stop the deliberate setting of fires. Although his strong “securitising” rhetoric received much public support, it is yet to produce results. The Indonesian authorities have had little success in preventing fires or prosecuting the culprits. Indonesia thus appears
to be a null case – that is, a case of an unsuccessful securitisation.
We argue that this unsuccessful securitisation needs to be understood against the backdrop of Indonesia’s vast decentralisation process, which resulted in certain powers being devolved from Jakarta to the provinces. We find that it is the ability of local and regional elites (often entrenched in patronage networks with plantation owners) to curtail environmental policies which explains the continuation of forest fires. With regard to securitisation theory, our findings suggest that securitising moves and audience acceptance do not necessarily lead to the successful implementation of emergency measures. It appears that there are intermediate factors – in our case mainly linked to the nature of and the distribution of power within the political regime – that impact on the success of securitisation processes.
Conference Presentations by Scott Edwards
A presentation that explores some of the problems of trust measurement in relation to the Develop... more A presentation that explores some of the problems of trust measurement in relation to the Development of Trusting Relationships in ASEAN project. In particular, it focuses on how we may measure habitual or practice based trust if representations of such trust are expected to be non-existent due to its non-reflexive nature.
Opinion Pieces by Scott Edwards
Man-made forest fires have already tripled Indonesia's carbon emissions this year, but there's no... more Man-made forest fires have already tripled Indonesia's carbon emissions this year, but there's not much the government can do about it.
Pressure is growing on ASEAN to choose condemnation of China and both explicit and implicit suppo... more Pressure is growing on ASEAN to choose condemnation of China and both explicit and implicit support of the U.S. in the South China Sea. Proponents argue that this is a way to shift the tide and contain an expanding Chinese presence. And it has come at a time when ASEAN has demonstrated concern over the fast rising tensions in the area and increasing militarization, demonstrated by comments made at the most recent foreign ministers’ retreat. Formerly “neutral” states such as Indonesia are also signaling increased concern at the tensions and focusing on China’s role.
Clearly, ASEAN should play a significant future role in the South China Sea. If the current pressures find success, however, they could have a host of negative effects on both ASEAN’s internal coherency and its ability to play a meaningful role. Instead, ASEAN should continue to focus on its (limited) past success in trust and confidence building, both internally and externally. Trust is important in the region, and this would present an alternative future path for developments in the South China Sea by allowing ASEAN to have conflict-free engagement with China. Just as importantly, it would prevent ASEAN from allowing disagreements to upset intra-regional stability, with the potential to undo the bloc’s significant attempts to foster trust among its member states.
Indonesia’s Defense White Paper reiterates lofty ambitions, with little advice on how to turn vis... more Indonesia’s Defense White Paper reiterates lofty ambitions, with little advice on how to turn vision into reality.
Posters by Scott Edwards
Aims: As collective identity is not a satisfactory causal factor, the project aims to re-evaluate... more Aims: As collective identity is not a satisfactory causal factor, the project aims to re-evaluate the cause of the dependable expectation. This project aims to explore potentially explanatory role of trust, a concept identified by security community scholars, but not operationalised. it argues trust has to become embedded into the ASEAN structure as a practice, and seeks to analyse how trust may develop to this point, and whether it has. Framework • The project argues that trust is a psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behaviour of another, but that these positive expectations are grounded in different bases. • In order to assess how it may become embedded, It is exploring a Business framework of trust development as a starting point, which see's movement between Calculus Based Trust, Knowledge Based Trust, and Identity Based Trust. • It also brings in practice literature to argue once trust is deep enough, it may become embedded into the ASEAN structure. Methodology • Adopts process tracing over a longitudinal single case study divided into 3 distinct eras of ASEAN's development , in order to see whether trust played a role, and whether it had different bases at different stages. • Measurement of trust in this process consists of two elements; the first is trusting behaviour (enactment of trust through acceptance of vulnerability, hedging, and diffuse reciprocity) and the second is the 'decision-input to trust (antecedents that create the belief that the other is trustworthy). • Documentary analysis and elite interviews will be deployed. Cases and hypotheses
Books by Scott Edwards
Malaysian Politics and People Vol 3: Minorities Matter, 2019
This chapter analyses the GE 14 campaign’s interaction with the Orang Asli (indigenous people) an... more This chapter analyses the GE 14 campaign’s interaction with the Orang Asli (indigenous people) and how the Orang Asli chose to vote. It will argue that such an exploration is important despite the fact that the Orang Asli constitute such a small percentage of the population, because the Orang Asli are often marginalised and deprived of political agency. Furthermore, the Orang Asli continued to vote primarily for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition despite significant concerns. In an election based on change, therefore, the Orang Asli represent a strong continuity. Based on an ethnography of the political campaigns in the state of Pahang, this chapter argues there was a continued lack of engagement with the Orang Asli, due to both lack of willingness and resource constraints. Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) campaigning was not successful because they did not engage effectively. Forgetting the names of the villages, talking down to attendees, repeating programmatic narratives, a shortage of gifts and resources, and emphasising differences all served to alienate the Orang Asli in attendance. Such problems meant that BN’s vast rural machinery could not be countered. Since PH has formed the government there have been positive signs they are giving the Orang Asli greater consideration, but also indications that they are willing to use BN’s former tools of political control which is limiting meaningful political engagement focused on bringing about change for the Orang Asli communities
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Papers by Scott Edwards
intergovernmental arrangements that for forty years
regulated the usage of, and traffic through, its waters
will revert to a national responsibility. Britain’s maritime
sector will confront novel regulatory and enforcement
challenges against a spectrum of rapidly evolving
risks to its sea-lanes, fishing grounds and marine
infrastructures, such as illegal fishing, human trafficking,
terrorism and organised crime.
The UK faces three critical challenges in this area: first,
the need to respond effectively to a complex security
environment, with important transnational dimensions;
second the need to address the current patchiness of
capacity amongst different geographic spaces and
regions; and finally, the need to address problems of
fragmentation and compartmentalisation between
the multiple departments and agencies tasked with delivering UK maritime security. These challenges are likely
to intensify in consequence of the Brexit process, when
key collective EU maritime governance arrangements
will either cease to apply or be subject to transformative
revision.
The University of Bristol and the SafeSeas network held
an IdeasLab on maritime security in Bristol on 28 February 2020 to identify responses and priorities for policy
and research. Participants from all major UK maritime
security agencies attended, as did academics represent�ing disciplines ranging from international law to security
studies. This Policy Report summarises the findings of
the IdeasLab and outlines key policy implications for UK
government and other maritime stakeholders.
This report will argue that BN, and particularly the main party, UMNO, has faced weakening legitimacy over the previous two decades. As will be demonstrated, this finally resulted in their election loss as this weakening was exacerbated by perceptions surrounding corruption scandals. Corruption has been a part of Malaysian society, and particularly the political arena, for many years. What is different in this election, however, is that the public are more aware of, and concerned about, scandals such One Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) and SRC International. This concern and awareness comes from five factors; the scale of corruption; the scale of personal enrichment on the behalf of political leaders; a stagnation in quality of living and unpopular economic policies; the international dimension and the potential role of foreign money; and the role of social media in propagating these issues.
This decline in legitimacy came at a time where the opposition was particularly well organised. The strength of the PH opposition, with reform minded leaders such as Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah and Lim Guen Eng under Former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir’s leadership, allowed PH to capitalise on UMNO’s misfortunes.Their future success, however, depends on their ability to ‘bury-the-hatchet’ and work together despite potential difficulties and problematic relationships in the past.
of the burning of forests and has a detrimental effect on the health of millions of people. Indonesia is currently the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. In response to the dangers posed by forest fires to national and global environmental security, the then Indonesian
president publicly declared a “war on haze” in 2006 and called for the use of all necessary measures to stop the deliberate setting of fires. Although his strong “securitising” rhetoric received much public support, it is yet to produce results. The Indonesian authorities have had little success in preventing fires or prosecuting the culprits. Indonesia thus appears
to be a null case – that is, a case of an unsuccessful securitisation.
We argue that this unsuccessful securitisation needs to be understood against the backdrop of Indonesia’s vast decentralisation process, which resulted in certain powers being devolved from Jakarta to the provinces. We find that it is the ability of local and regional elites (often entrenched in patronage networks with plantation owners) to curtail environmental policies which explains the continuation of forest fires. With regard to securitisation theory, our findings suggest that securitising moves and audience acceptance do not necessarily lead to the successful implementation of emergency measures. It appears that there are intermediate factors – in our case mainly linked to the nature of and the distribution of power within the political regime – that impact on the success of securitisation processes.
Conference Presentations by Scott Edwards
Opinion Pieces by Scott Edwards
Clearly, ASEAN should play a significant future role in the South China Sea. If the current pressures find success, however, they could have a host of negative effects on both ASEAN’s internal coherency and its ability to play a meaningful role. Instead, ASEAN should continue to focus on its (limited) past success in trust and confidence building, both internally and externally. Trust is important in the region, and this would present an alternative future path for developments in the South China Sea by allowing ASEAN to have conflict-free engagement with China. Just as importantly, it would prevent ASEAN from allowing disagreements to upset intra-regional stability, with the potential to undo the bloc’s significant attempts to foster trust among its member states.
Posters by Scott Edwards
Books by Scott Edwards
intergovernmental arrangements that for forty years
regulated the usage of, and traffic through, its waters
will revert to a national responsibility. Britain’s maritime
sector will confront novel regulatory and enforcement
challenges against a spectrum of rapidly evolving
risks to its sea-lanes, fishing grounds and marine
infrastructures, such as illegal fishing, human trafficking,
terrorism and organised crime.
The UK faces three critical challenges in this area: first,
the need to respond effectively to a complex security
environment, with important transnational dimensions;
second the need to address the current patchiness of
capacity amongst different geographic spaces and
regions; and finally, the need to address problems of
fragmentation and compartmentalisation between
the multiple departments and agencies tasked with delivering UK maritime security. These challenges are likely
to intensify in consequence of the Brexit process, when
key collective EU maritime governance arrangements
will either cease to apply or be subject to transformative
revision.
The University of Bristol and the SafeSeas network held
an IdeasLab on maritime security in Bristol on 28 February 2020 to identify responses and priorities for policy
and research. Participants from all major UK maritime
security agencies attended, as did academics represent�ing disciplines ranging from international law to security
studies. This Policy Report summarises the findings of
the IdeasLab and outlines key policy implications for UK
government and other maritime stakeholders.
This report will argue that BN, and particularly the main party, UMNO, has faced weakening legitimacy over the previous two decades. As will be demonstrated, this finally resulted in their election loss as this weakening was exacerbated by perceptions surrounding corruption scandals. Corruption has been a part of Malaysian society, and particularly the political arena, for many years. What is different in this election, however, is that the public are more aware of, and concerned about, scandals such One Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) and SRC International. This concern and awareness comes from five factors; the scale of corruption; the scale of personal enrichment on the behalf of political leaders; a stagnation in quality of living and unpopular economic policies; the international dimension and the potential role of foreign money; and the role of social media in propagating these issues.
This decline in legitimacy came at a time where the opposition was particularly well organised. The strength of the PH opposition, with reform minded leaders such as Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah and Lim Guen Eng under Former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir’s leadership, allowed PH to capitalise on UMNO’s misfortunes.Their future success, however, depends on their ability to ‘bury-the-hatchet’ and work together despite potential difficulties and problematic relationships in the past.
of the burning of forests and has a detrimental effect on the health of millions of people. Indonesia is currently the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. In response to the dangers posed by forest fires to national and global environmental security, the then Indonesian
president publicly declared a “war on haze” in 2006 and called for the use of all necessary measures to stop the deliberate setting of fires. Although his strong “securitising” rhetoric received much public support, it is yet to produce results. The Indonesian authorities have had little success in preventing fires or prosecuting the culprits. Indonesia thus appears
to be a null case – that is, a case of an unsuccessful securitisation.
We argue that this unsuccessful securitisation needs to be understood against the backdrop of Indonesia’s vast decentralisation process, which resulted in certain powers being devolved from Jakarta to the provinces. We find that it is the ability of local and regional elites (often entrenched in patronage networks with plantation owners) to curtail environmental policies which explains the continuation of forest fires. With regard to securitisation theory, our findings suggest that securitising moves and audience acceptance do not necessarily lead to the successful implementation of emergency measures. It appears that there are intermediate factors – in our case mainly linked to the nature of and the distribution of power within the political regime – that impact on the success of securitisation processes.
Clearly, ASEAN should play a significant future role in the South China Sea. If the current pressures find success, however, they could have a host of negative effects on both ASEAN’s internal coherency and its ability to play a meaningful role. Instead, ASEAN should continue to focus on its (limited) past success in trust and confidence building, both internally and externally. Trust is important in the region, and this would present an alternative future path for developments in the South China Sea by allowing ASEAN to have conflict-free engagement with China. Just as importantly, it would prevent ASEAN from allowing disagreements to upset intra-regional stability, with the potential to undo the bloc’s significant attempts to foster trust among its member states.