1st Edition

Progressive Justice in an Age of Repression Strategies for Challenging the Rise of the Right

Edited By Walter S. DeKeseredy, Elliott Currie Copyright 2019
    248 Pages
    by Routledge

    248 Pages
    by Routledge

    Progressive Justice in an Age of Repression provides a much-needed engagement with questions of justice and reform within the current phase of global capitalism, one that is marked not only by significant social inequality, but also political bifurcation. It offers guidance on progressive strategies for resistance.

    It also extends criminological analysis by situating these contemporary challenges as globalized and inextricably linked to questions of political economy, law, and society. Bringing together an international selection of scholars, this book draws on a range of issues, such as immigration, street crime and the renewed push for "law and order," violence against women, environmental injustice, assaults on health care and social services, and the unleashing of private corporate exploitation of natural resources. It is a clarion for strategic thinking, a call for action fuelled by informed analysis, and a reimagining of the progressive society that is under attack by Trumpism, populism, and a rising right.

    This is an important read for those who teach and study criminology, deviance and social control, social problems, legal studies, political science, and policy studies. It is also a useful resource for practitioners, community-based activists, and policy makers seeking new ways of thinking critically about crime, law, and social control.

    Introduction: responding to repression

    Walter S. DeKeseredy

    1. By why this man?: challenging hegemonic masculinity in an age of repression

    Walter S. DeKeseredy

    2. Why the left must change: right-wing populism in context

    Simon Winlow, Steve Hall and James Treadwell

    3. Social change and drugs: rural America and the Rise of Donald Trump

    Joseph F. Donnermeyer

    4. Getting crime right: framing everyday violence in the age of Trump

    Elliott Currie

    5. The limits of police reform

    Alex S. Vitale

    6. What would a just justice system look like?

    Sandra Walklate

    7. Corporate criminality and resisting financial and securities frauds

    Gregg Barak

    8. Beyond the ricochets: unpacking the modern gun culture and its political stalemate

    Peter Squires

    9. Abortion politics and the persistence of patriarchy

    Meda Chesney-Lind

    10. Resisting ecocide: engaging in the politics of the future

    Rob White

    11. Youth for social justice in an age of youth expendability

    Randy Myers and Tim Goddard

    12. What’s wrong with American criminal justice reform?

    Sonya Goshe

    13. Continuity of American xenophobia under Trump and plausible alternatives

    James Diego Vigil and Nativo Lopez Vigil

    Epilogue: pitfalls and possibilities

    Elliott Currie

    Biography

    Walter S. DeKeseredy is the Anna Deane Carlson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences, Director of the Research Center on Violence, and Professor of Sociology at West Virginia University, USA.

    Elliott Currie is Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine, USA.

    "This volume offers sober analysis of the deep socio-political roots triggering today’s repressive crime control policies. The contributors show the dangers of complacency and the urgent need for progressive resistance. Masterfully edited by Walter DeKeseredy and Elliott Currie, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking guidance on how to advance a more humane justice system within an era defined by the Trump presidency."

    Francis T. Cullen, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, University of Cincinnati

    "Reading this book provoked many thoughts about the enormity of the challenges posed across a whole spectrum of crime-related issues. However, it was also a reminder of the expertise and commitment to change that exists in the criminological community. A beacon of light in dark times."

    Tony Jefferson, Professor Emeritus, Keele University