Routledge Criminal Legalities in the Global South: Cultural Dynamics, Political Tensions, and Institutional Practices (Routledge Studies in Crime and Justice in Asia and the Global South)

This edited volume presents the work of academics from the Global South and explores, from local and regional settings, how the legal order and people’s perceptions of it translates into an understanding of what constitutes "criminal" behaviors or activities. This book aims to address the gap between criminal law in theory and practice in the Global South by assembling 11 chapters from established and emerging scholars from various underrepresented regions of the world. Drawing on research from Singapore, the Philippines, Peru, Indonesia, India, the Dominican Republic, Burma, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Argentina, this book explores a range of issues that straddle the line between social deviance and legal crimes in such societies, including extramarital affairs, gender-based violence, gambling, LGBT issues, and corruption. Issues of inclusivity versus exclusivity, modernity versus tradition, globalization of capital versus cultural revivalism are explored. The contributions critically analyze the role politics and institutions play in shaping these issues. There is an urgent need for empirical studies and new theoretical approaches that can capture the complexity of crime phenomena that occur in the Global South. This book will provide essential material to facilitate the development of new approaches more suitable to understanding the social phenomena related to crime in these societies. This book will make an important contribution in the development of Southern criminology. It will be of interest to students and researchers of criminology and sociology engaged in studies of sentencing and punishment, theories of crime, law and practice, and postcolonialism. Review "Ciocchini and Radics are absolutely clear: in our upside-down world we must re-examine set canons – including those related to crime and law – otherwise. This is particularly important when we think about, and with, the South. The South’s ample and interconnected geography has, all too often, been considered exclusively as a site of troubles. Criminal Legalities in the Global South shows us that it is much more than that. This cutting-edge edited collection brings together an exciting group of South-oriented contributors to demonstrate that in our twisted present there is no better place to come up with new frameworks and ideas than in that place where ‘most of the world’ exists and struggles, continuing its search for new futures." Luis Eslava, Senior Lecturer, Kent Law School, University of Kent, UK "Criminal Legalities in the Global South places at the heart of its inquiry populations who have been traditionally neglected by the social sciences, drawing attention to their experiences and contestations with criminal laws that seek not only to control their actions but also to define who they are. The volume is an important and welcome addition to the growing body of socio-legal scholarship interested in the worldviews, perceptions, and decisions of those who live under subjugated social, legal, economic, and political conditions around the world." Lynette J. Chua, Associate Professor of Law, National University of Singapore, Singapore "This book draws together an impressive group of experts to offer new perspectives into the vexing topic of crime and justice in the Global South. Emerging from the pages of this book is the crippling legacy of colonial legality, tensions between tradition and modernity, and critical issues concerning political and economic rights and inequality that resonate across contexts. This volume issues a significant call to embrace the diversity, complexity, and plurality of Global South legalities." Melissa Crouch, Associate Professor, Law Faculty, University of New South Wales, Australia "A valuable exploration of the relationships between criminal justice, local culture, and politics in a variety of locations in the Global South, which described how law is used in post colonies and what can be lear