Decolonising Access Podcast: Episode Six
“Energy security is becoming such a defining feature of strategic planning both national governments and global energy markets… it’s something that we really try to bring to the attention of our readers, just how much countries like Brazil, Nigeria and Angola could potentially work together to strengthen their energy security through greater cooperation.” – Maísa Edwards
In this episode Bethlehem Attfield talks to Maísa Edwards (Instagram: @m_edwards92) about conducting joint research with King’s College London and University of São Paulo, the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS), energy security and climate change, as well as her passion for multilingual literature. The 40th anniversary of the ZOPACAS’ takes place on 27th October 2026.
Maísa Edwards is a Lecturer in Foreign Policy and Grand Strategy Education in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London (KCL). She holds a Joint PhD in International Relations from KCL and the University of São Paulo, where her doctoral research focused on Brazil, the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS), and the wider South Atlantic region. In addition to her lectureship at KCL, she is a Research Fellow at the Department of Military History at Stellenbosch University and serves as Co-Convenor of the British International Studies Association (BISA) Foreign Policy Working Group (Nov 2025 – Present).
Outside of academia, Maísa is passionate about multilingual and multicultural literature and runs ‘Talk Books With ME’ (@talk_books_with_me on Instagram), a literary project fostering dialogue across languages and cultures since February 2021.
Further reading
- Edwards, M., & Lyra, R. P. (2025). Oil Trilateralism in the South Atlantic: Strategies for Energy Cooperation Through the ZOPACAS. The RUSI Journal, 170(6–7), 124–135.
- Edwards, M. (2025). What were the effects of the Falklands/Malvinas War on Anglo-Brazilian diplomatic and defence relations between 1982-1985? Estudios en Seguridad y Defensa, 20(39), 117-135.
- Edwards, M. (2023). When defence drives foreign policy: Brazilian military agency in the revitalisation of the ZOPACAS. Conflict, Security & Development, 23(2), 179–197.
- Brazil and the ZOPACAS: An overview of Brazil’s interests in the South Atlantic’s zone of peace and cooperation, Kings College London (Accessed: 6th October 2023)
- Edwards, M. (2021). The ZOPACAS: a return to prominence, Ideology Theory Practice.
- Zone of peace and co-operation of the South Atlantic UNGA, A/RES/41/11, 1986.
