It is well known that the social definition of individuals and ethnic groups helps legitimize how they are addressed by law enforcement. The philosophy of the social construction of crime and criminal behaviour reflects how individuals, such as police officers, construct meaning from the perspective from which they emerge, which in turn influences their law enforcement outlook. In the field, this is generally viewed through a positivist frame of reference which fails to critically examine assumptions of approach and practice. Written by an international specialist in this area, this is the first book which attempts to situate the social construction of crime and criminal behaviour within the philosophical context of phenomenology and how these constructions help inform, and ultimately justify, the policies employed to address them. Challenging existing thinking, this is essential reading for academics and students interested in social theory and theories of criminology.

This book examines the socio-psychological dynamics and drivers of terrorism from a humanistic perspective. Most interpret terrorism as meaningless, asocial violence but this book argues that it's not just a case of seeing 'who is killing whom' but that defining and understanding terrorism is configured by historical context and immediate experience. The author argues that these acts of terrorist violence can be interpreted as the external expression of repressed feelings and impulses that have been tabooized by mainstream society. Upon release, these terrorists gain a new 'nomos' which generates a sense of meaning and significance for them. This book draws on psycho-analytical theories of repression, Heideggerian existentialism, Berger's anthropological concept of culture as 'nomos', and Roger Griffin's analysis of terrorist fanaticism, adding to the understanding terrorism and criminality from a new perspective and beyond the usual literature situated in political science, security/war and peace studies. This book seeks to provide: a definition of terrorism, an account of the psychological theory, an explanation of the nomic dimension of terroristic violence, an exploration of the relevance of the new approach to understanding: Salafi jihadism, Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, the Taliban, White Supremacism, the rise of the Radical Right, and reflections on this for combating terrorism. It appeals to those interested in terrorism, conflict, terrorist radicalization and motivation, international relations, politics and religious politics, and to counter-terrorism agencies.

Why is solitary confinement used in today's world? Does it help the rehabilitation of offenders? And how is policy affected by justification for the use of it? This book is the first to consider the history of solitary confinement and how it is experienced by the individuals undergoing it. Using Merleau-Ponty's concept of embodied subjectivity, it provides first-hand accounts of the inhumane experience of solitary confinement to provide a better appreciation of the relationship between penal strategy and its effect on human beings. Drawing on his own experiences as a Psychological Specialist in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and on those interviewed as part of the Guardian 6x9 project (http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/apr/27/6x9-a-virtual-experience-of-solitary-confinement), the author focuses on the phenomenology of solitary confinement to consider what the intentional aspect of this almost uninhabitable type of confinement says about a democratic society that continues to justify its use as a correctional strategy. Aiming to influence policy, the book fills the gap between the practice of solitary confinement and its implications, as well as the social attitudes that uncritically condone its use.

This text provides a phenomenological account of the experience of anti-black racism as described by Malcolm X. Central to this analysis is the phenomenology that emerges over the course of Malcolm's life, which emerges through the various personal transformations that the autobiography introduces and explores. As this process unfolds, a variety of different aspects of lived-experience can be witnessed that becomes situated within the process of naming that Malcolm employs to situate the specifics of his experience. For example, the phenomenology of Malcolm's early childhood experience, is defined by two very different competing definitions for blackness. Though Malcolm Little and his family exist or find themselves "thrown" within a social structure that employs a narrative of anti-black racism, his parents are able to provide a powerful alternative meaning for blackness that is informed by the perspective taken from the Marcus Garvey Movement of the early 1900s.When that narrative is effectively silenced given Malcolm's separation from his family, the positive meanings for black-being-in-the-world disappear and leave Malcolm with few alternatives to this new reality. As the Autobiography moves forward, Malcolm's experience becomes defined by the phenomenology that these overlapping narratives construct. During certain moments of this phenomenology, the negative aspects of anti-black racism seem to impose very specific challenges to Malcolm's lived-experience that become difficult to overcome and in others, powerful alternative meanings for black-being-in-the-world are taken-up and successfully employed to address the consequences of this type of racism. Though the fact of anti-black racism is never actually defeated, Malcolm's relationship to this process is drastically transformed over the course of his reflection.

This book examines the socio-psychological dynamics and drivers of terrorism from a humanistic perspective. Most interpret terrorism as meaningless, asocial violence but this book argues that it's not just a case of seeing 'who is killing whom' but that defining and understanding terrorism is configured by historical context and immediate experience. The author argues that these acts of terrorist violence can be interpreted as the external expression of repressed feelings and impulses that have been tabooized by mainstream society. Upon release, these terrorists gain a new 'nomos' which generates a sense of meaning and significance for them. This book draws on psycho-analytical theories of repression, Heideggerian existentialism, Berger's anthropological concept of culture as 'nomos', and Roger Griffin's analysis of terrorist fanaticism, adding to the understanding terrorism and criminality from a new perspective and beyond the usual literature situated in political science, security/war and peace studies. This book seeks to provide: a definition of terrorism, an account of the psychological theory, an explanation of the nomic dimension of terroristic violence, an exploration of the relevance of the new approach to understanding: Salafi jihadism, Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, the Taliban, White Supremacism, the rise of the Radical Right, and reflections on this for combating terrorism. It appeals to those interested in terrorism, conflict, terrorist radicalization and motivation, international relations, politics and religious politics, and to counter-terrorism agencies.

This book is a timely re-introduction to the work and life of one of criminology's most respected theorists, Jack Katz, exploring the current relevance of this important author and highlighting his work to a broad audience. The scholarship of Jack Katz, as evidenced in his seminal Seductions of Crime and otherwise, has over the past three decades offered an alternative philosophical perspective to the study of crime and criminal behavior that is not defined by quantitative method or approach. Katz has radically altered the focus and range of contemporary criminology in a way that few if any other scholars have done and his work been foundational in the development of cultural criminology, itself now a high-profile alternative criminological perspective. Through a diverse range of chapters from recognized authors in the field - including a major new interview with Jack Katz himself, in which he describes the development of his ideas, work, and growth as a researcher - contributions take up aspects of his work from a variety of perspectives and discuss and expand its contemporary relevance to the discipline of criminology. This book will appeal to postgraduate students and scholars in the areas of criminology, cultural criminology, critical criminology, phenomenology, and sociology.

This book examines various aspects of the work of Bruce Arrigo related to therapeutic jurisprudence, criminal justice ethics, and the place of critical theory in criminology and related fields. Arrigo’s work spans over thirty years and during that time has been an important voice in the practical and theoretical application of post-modern and critical theoretical approaches to mental illness, the practice of forensic psychology, and a wide variety of critical reflection concerning incarceration, rehabilitation, and the ethical practice within the criminal justice system. Each individual contributor offers their own perspective on his work and its specific influence on the topic under discussion. This book speaks to academics focused on the application of critical criminological theory within a variety of disciplinary contexts. These include forensic psychology, psychological jurisprudence, criminal justice ethics, and philosophically based critiques of the law and mental health and criminal justice activism.