Dr Maurice Beseng PhD, MA, MSc, Pg.D, BSc.

Dr Maurice Beseng

International Development Department
Assistant Professor

Contact details

Email
m.beseng@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@mubeseng
View my research portal
Address
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Maurice Beseng’s research focuses on ocean governance, security, and development. He is particularly interested in understanding coastal communities’ responses to global maritime change, politics and equity in the blue economy and maritime security governance in the Gulf of Guinea. Maurice’s other research work has focused on the agency of civil society organisation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding in the context of shrinking civic space. 

Qualifications

  • PhD in Development Studies, Coventry University 2019
  • Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2017
  • MA in Conflict and Peace Studies, Coventry University 2008
  • Joint European MSc in Water and Coastal Management, Universities of: Cadiz (Spain), Algarve (Portugal), Plymouth (UK), 2007.
  • Pg.D  Gender and Development Studies, University of Buea, 2004
  • BSc Botany and Environmental Sciences, University of Buea, 2000

Biography

Maurice Beseng completed a PhD in Development Studies from Coventry University in April 2019. His PhD research examined the nature and scope of illegal fishing and fisheries crime in Cameroon and its implications on the livelihoods of coastal communities framed within a maritime security governance discourse in the Gulf of Guinea region of West & Central Africa.

Before joining IDD as Teaching Fellow in March 2023, Maurice was Visiting Research Fellow at Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University. Prior to this, he was Research Associate at the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD), University of Sheffield on the AfriCultuReS project, where he worked on end-user engagement and capacity development in the development and use of remote-sensing products and services to combat food insecurity in Africa.  Previously, Maurice was a Postdoctoral Researcher in African Politics and Economics of Wildlife Trade at the University of Oxford Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), were he explored the connection between global donkey skin trade and wildlife trade and the implications on food security and livelihoods of donkey-dependent communities in Africa.

Teaching

Maurice leads and teaches on the following modules: 

  • Understanding Development Assistance (UG)
  • Development Cooperation Beyond Aid (PG)
  • Development in Practice (DL)

Research

Research interests

  • Drivers of marine environmental crime
  • Technology and maritime security governance
  • Blue Economy, equity, and environmental justice
  • Civil society and conflict resolution

Publications

Su, S., Macdonald, E. A., Arcilla, N., Beseng, M., Thomaz, F., & Macdonald, D. W. (2023). Characterising the links between the trade in donkey skins for Traditional Chinese Medicine and timber of conservation concern. Global Ecology and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02598.

Beseng, M., Crawford, G., & Annan, N. (2023). From ‘Anglophone Problem’ to ‘Anglophone Conflict’ in Cameroon: Assessing Prospects for Peace. Africa Spectrum, DOI: 10.1177/00020397231155244.

Su S, Macdonald, E. A, Beseng, M, Thomaz, F. & Macdonald, D. W. (2022) “The link between wildlife trade and the global donkey skin product network” Conservation Science and Practice DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12676

Annan, A., Beseng, M., Crawford, G., & Kiven, J. K. (2021) Civil society, peacebuilding from below and shrinking civic space: the case of Cameroon’s ‘Anglophone’ conflict, Conflict, Security & Development, https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2021.1997454

Beseng, M., & James Malcolm (2021): Maritime security and the securitisation of fisheries in the Gulf of Guinea: experiences from Cameroon, Conflict, Security & Development, DOI: 10.1080/14678802.2021.1985848

Beseng, M. (2021). “The Nature and Scope of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Fisheries Crime in Cameroon: Implications for Maritime Security”. African Security, 1-24. DOI: 10.1080/19392206.2021.1982241

Beseng, M., (2019). “Cameroon’s choppy waters: The anatomy of fisheries crime in the maritime fisheries sector”. Marine Policy, 108, 103669. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103669

View all publications in research portal