09:55
Crises, Economy and Punishment:
The influence of the Great Recession on crime and penality
International two-day conference
15-16 September 2016
Law School, University of A Corunna
A Corunna, Spain
(www.ecrim.es/crises_economy_and_punishment/)
CALL FOR PAPERS
Over the last decades, a significant number of path-breaking contributions have read the
evolution of crime and penality from a politico-economic perspective. Most remarkably, the
analytical framework of the Political Economy of Punishment has been pivotal in reframing
critical thought on penality, by relating punishment to economic variables, such as
unemployment, economic cycles or the level of exploitation of the workforce. Along with
those works, over the last fifteen years or so another line of inquiry has been unfolding,
which is aimed at explaining the rise of punitiveness (and sometimes the evolution of
crime) from the standpoint of the rise of neoliberalism, understood as an economic doxa
but also as a political project. Moreover, all throughout the last century key
criminologists have widely analysed the relation between economic variables and crime.
However, those challenging literatures have rarely addressed the concept of economic
crises and their implications for crime and penality.
It appears, though, to be particularly timely to reflect on the evolution of crime and the
contours of penality from the standpoint of the current economic crisis. Not in vain, what
has been named the Great Recession, that from 2007 affected wide regions of the Global
North in particular, has entailed era-defining economic, political, social and cultural
transformations. The field of crime and punishment has not been immune to these mutations.
In the US context, key authors have recently pointed out that the economic crisis has
crucially contributed to the momentum of an emergent new –and less punitive- common sense
on penality. By the same token, in Europe the decades-long cycle of increasing
punitiveness seems to have come to a halt during the recession period, especially in
countries such as Italy and Spain, but also in the UK and Nordic countries. By contrast,
South American countries, which so far have been scarcely affected by the Great Recession,
have witnessed a most prominent and uninterrupted rise of punitiveness throughout the last
decade. As regards the crime issue, the economic recession has not led to an increment of
crime rates, but rather the opposite, at least in the Global North.
In sum, the Conference aims to debate the influence of economic crises, and particularly
of the Great Recession, on crime and punishment. Likewise, the Conference seeks to
contribute thereby to the rich academic tradition which develops a politico-economic
reading of crime and penality. Moreover, the Conference is aimed at reflecting on the
allegedly arising new common sense on punishment, and on its forthcoming consequences.
Therefore, we will consider contributions on a wide range of issues that encompass the
broad theme of Crises, Economy and Punishment: The influence of the Great Recession on
crime and penality, particularly on the themes of:
• Economic crises, crime and punishment
• Contemporary economic transformations and the evolution of crime and penality
• Great Recession, crime and penal policies
• Economic crisis and penal resources: Public sector cuts and privatisation
• Economy, culture, politics and punishment: Dialogues and conflicts
Keynote speakers:
Patricia Faraldo (University of A Corunna, Spain)
Russell Hogg (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)
Elena Larrauri (Pompeu Fabra University, Spain)
Dario Melossi (University of Bologna, Italy)
Jonathan Simon (UC Berkeley, USA)
Máximo Sozzo (National University of the Litoral, Argentina)
Organization:
ECRIM, University of A Corunna, Spain (www.ecrim.es)
Academic chairs: José Ángel Brandariz (University of A Coruna, Spain), Russell Hogg
(Queensland University of Technology, Australia) and Máximo Sozzo (National University of
the Litoral, Argentina)
Organizing committee: Patricia Faraldo (University of A Corunna, Spain, Chair), David
Castro (University of A Corunna, Spain), Beatriz Cruz (University of Cadiz, Spain),
Ignacio González (University of Girona, Spain), María de los Ángeles Fuentes (University
of A Corunna, Spain), Daniel Jiménez (University of Zaragoza, Spain), Carmen Lamela
(University of A Corunna, Spain), Silvia Rodríguez (University of A Corunna, Spain)
The Conference is mainly funded by a research grant awarded by the Spanish Ministry of
Economy
Abstract guidelines:
Proposals should be titled and should not exceed 250 words. Please include the proposer’s
name and contact details along with his or her university affiliation.
Please submit abstracts via email to: dcastrolinares@gmail.comdcastrolinares@gmail.com
The papers presented at the workshop may be eventually published in a book containing the
workshop proceedings.
Closing date: 5 April 2016
Decisions about the acceptance of the papers will be made by late April 2016.