Power, Conflict and Criminalisation [Paperback]

Drawing on a body of empirical, qualitative work spanning three decades, this unique text traces the significance of critical social research and critical analyses in understanding some of the most significant and controversial issues in contemporary society. Focusing on central debates in the UK and Ireland  prison protests; inner-city uprisings; deaths in custody; womens imprisonment; transition in the north of Ireland; the crisis in childhood; the Hillsborough and Dunblane tragedies; and the war on terror  Phil Scraton argues that marginalisation and criminalisation are social forces central to the application of state power and authority. Each case study demonstrates how structural relations of power, authority and legitimacy, establish the determining contexts of everyday life, social interaction and individual opportunity.

This book explores the politics and ethics of critical social research, making a persuasive case for the application of critical theory to analysing the rule of law, its enforcement and the administration of criminal justice. It is indispensable for students in the fields of criminology, criminal justice and socio-legal studies, social policy and social work.

1. Challenging Academic Orthodoxy: Recognising and Proclaiming Values in Critical Social Research  2. Unreasonable Force: Policing Marginalised Communities in the 1980s  3. Lost Lives, Hidden Voices: Deaths and Violence in Custody  4. Hillsborough: Negligence without Liability  5. Licensed to Kill: The Dunblane Shootings and their Aftermath  6. Children on Trial: Prosecution, Disclosure and Anonymity  7. Asbo-mania: The Regulation and Criminalisation of Children and Young People  8. Children, Young People and Conflict in the North of Ireland  9. Self Harm and Suicide in a Womens Prison  10. Nasty Things Happen in War  11. Speaking Trln