EMM (Edwin) Ramadhan

Edwin Mahatir Muhammad Ramadhan is a PhD researcher at the Public Administration and Policy Group of Wageningen University & Research. He holds a BSc in Agribusiness and an MSc in Regional and Rural Development Planning from IPB University, Indonesia. Prior to receiving the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) scholarship and undertaking official study leave for his doctoral project, he worked as a Policy Analyst at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. In this role, he contributed to the development and coordination of key national policies, including the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification, the National Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil, smallholder replanting programmes, the mandatory biodiesel policy, and the updating of Indonesia’s palm oil map. He was also responsible for international cooperation on palm oil issues, particularly through engagement with the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC).

His PhD project examines how Indonesian diplomats in Europe navigate the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). His research contributes to a broader understanding of sustainability diplomacy from a Global South perspective. His work is structured around three analytical levels. First, at the macro level, he explores the tensions between conformist and decolonial environmental justice in Indonesia’s diplomatic responses, highlighting how issues of recognition, distribution, and procedural justice shape engagement with the EUDR. Second, at the micro level, he analyses diplomatic practice by examining how diplomats enact their roles, draw on different scripts, and exercise discretionary judgment in their everyday efforts to navigate the EUDR. Third, at the meso level, he adopts a governance network perspective, incorporating concepts of governance networks and network-making power, to examine how Indonesian diplomats employ actor strategies such as coalition-building, resource mobilization, and network navigation to address asymmetrical interdependence and manage complexity within the EUDR context.

For further discussion or collaboration, he can be contacted at: edwin.mahatir@wur.nl