Rate My Professor Adam Edwards

Professor Adam Edwards serves as Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University and Director of Learning and Teaching. He obtained his PhD from Cardiff University in 2017, with a thesis entitled 'Multi-centred governance in liberal modes of security: a realist approach'. His career trajectory at Cardiff encompasses roles as Reader in Politics and Criminology since August 2015, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice from August 2009 to July 2015, and Lecturer from September 2004 to July 2009. Previously, he held positions as Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Nottingham Trent University (2000-2004), Lecturer in Politics and Criminology at the University of Leicester (1997-2000), and Researcher at the Scarman Centre, University of Leicester (1994-1997).

Professor Edwards' research focuses on collaborative, interdisciplinary studies examining the effects of emergent technologies—including social media and smart cities—on law, governance, and regulation related to crime, security, and justice. He maintains a strong research profile in the politics of security within European city-regions and the organization and reduction of serious crimes. Key publications include the edited volume 'Policing European Metropolises: The Politics of Security in City-Regions' (Routledge, 2017), co-edited 'The SAGE Handbook of Digital Society' (SAGE, 2022), and highly cited articles such as 'Tweeting the Terror: Modelling the Social Media Reaction to the Woolwich Terrorist Attack' (2014) and 'Detecting Tension in Online Communities with Computational Twitter Analysis' (2015). Recent works feature 'Distinguishing European Criminology: A Metatheoretical Argument' (European Journal of Criminology, 2025) and 'Forecasting the Governance of Harmful Social Media Communications: Findings from the Digital Wildfire Policy Delphi' (Policing and Society, 2021). Edwards has been Editor of the Routledge Research Series on Crime, Security and Justice since 2016 and held visiting fellowships at Leiden University (2016-2017) and as a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (2016).