Routledge Criminology and Democratic Politics (Routledge Advances in Criminology)

Criminology and Democratic Politics brings together a range of international leading experts to consider the relationship between criminology and democratic politics. How does criminology relate to democratic politics? What has been the impact of criminology on crime and justice? How can we make sense of the uses, non-uses, and abuses of criminology? Such questions are far from new, but in recent times they have moved to the centre of debate in criminology in different parts of the world. The chapters in Criminology and Democratic Politics aim to contribute to this global debate. Chapters cover a range of themes such as punishment, knowledge, and penal politics; crime, fear, and the media; democratic politics and the uses of criminological knowledge; and the public role of criminology. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, and politics and all those interested in how criminology relates to democratic politics in modern times. Review This compendium of original essays has been written in honour of Richard Sparks’s voluminous and exceptional contributions to scholarship. With contributions from across the globe this edited collection will appeal to many and hopefully stimulate debate about the critical role of criminology in democratic politics. Kerry Carrington, Queensland University of Technology, Australia This is a deeply personal book, but also an original and exciting contribution to the fields of democratic politics and public criminology. It honours, represents, and develops Richard Sparks’ professional work beautifully, amongst many other things. The editors should be congratulated on this project: a work of originality, collegiality and love. Alison Liebling, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Cambridge, UK This is a superb book on an urgent, important topic. Building on Richard Sparks seminal work on "public criminology," a distinguished group of international contributors presents a wide-ranging discussion of criminology’s role in the democratic process and considers how we can go about creating a better politics of crime and control. This is an edited collection that deserves to be read and re-read. David Garland, NYU, USA About the Author Tom Daems is Professor of Criminology at the Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), KU Leuven, Belgium. Stefaan Pleysier is Professor of Criminology at the Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), KU Leuven, Belgium.