Sage Publications Critical Criminology: Visions from Europe

Criminology is under attack for its seeming shift away from theoretical debates towards empirical, administrative-led research. In this timely book, Ren[ac]e van Swaaningen warns that if criminology is to keep advancing as a discipline there is an urgent need for the resurgence of a theoretical perspective. He believes that by examining critical criminology within a European framework, a new critical perspective in the search for alternative visions of justice will emerge. Through a comprehensive historical and contemporary analysis of critical criminology throughout Europe, the author argues that critical criminological theories must be reassessed and reapplied in the light of current trends within criminology and criminal justice. By placing central themes from the current politics of law and order - such as crime prevention, safety and the position of the victim - in a framework of social justice, the book concludes that critical criminological theories illuminate our understanding both of crime and the institutions constructed to attempt its control. Review `This is an excellent text that should be set reading on criminology and criminal justice degree courses. It should also be read both by critical criminologists and by those who maintain that these criminologists do not do ′real′ criminology. The level of scholarship and depth of analysis in this book provide a striking challenge to such antediluvian attitudes′ - British Journal of Criminology `This is an impressive, critical and wide-ranging narrative which will both delight and divide academic criminologists on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond′ - International Journal of Police Science & Management `The book justifies Van Swaaningen′s claims about the value of a comparative perspective, and there will be few British readers who are not a good deal clearer about contemporary European criminology at the end of the book than at the beginning′ - David Smith ′This is an impressive, critical and wide-ranging narrative which will both delight and divide academic criminologists on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond. It also sets out to give new meaning and purpose to activists in penal reform. This is an impressive contribution to the literature on critical criminology which will take some time to digest, not least because its comparative nature reveals some of the cultural limits of comparative analysis.′ Mick Ryan About the Author Ren[ac]e van Swaaningen is a Research Fellow and Reader in criminology, penology and criminal justice at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.