Rethinking Criminology(ies) Through the Inclusion of Political Violence and Armed Conflict as Legitimate Objects of Inquiry

• NCJ Number: 231434
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 52 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2010 Pages: 249-269
• Author(s): Maritza Felices-Luna
• Date Published: June 2010
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: French; English
• Country: Canada
• Note: For additional articles in this special issue see NCJ-231433, and 231435-37.

Annotation

This article examines a new way to close the theoretical divide between traditional and alternative criminology.

Abstract

Criminology has yet to achieve full recognition as an independent discipline. Its development has been hampered by a multiplicity of often stale debates between a "traditional" and an "alternative" criminology over the legitimate object, theories, and methods of the discipline. Rather than pursuing the debate in its current form, this article explores how focusing on new objects of inquiry and the challenges they represent may help to bridge the criminological divide. By rendering the borders of criminology's object permeable, we may produce a malleable and dynamic discipline that deals with processes of normalization/differentiation/othering as well as ordering, governance, and control from different normative and political perspectives, theories, and methods. Notes and references (Published Abstract)