Constitutive Criminology: Beyond Postmodernism

Constitutive Criminology offers an affirmative, holistic approach to the study of crime. Taking as its starting point that individuals not only shape the world but are shaped by it, this book argues that the behaviours of those who offend and victimize others cannot be understood in isolation from the society of which they are a part. Instead of setting out to identify factors that cause offending, constitutive criminology examines the co-production of crime by human subjects and by the social and organizational structures that humans develop. The implications are, first, that crime must be deconstructed as a recurrent discursive process and, secondly, that conscious attempts must be made at reconstruction with a view to preventing recurrence. In constrast with the sceptical versions of postmodernism that pervade the social sciences and humanities Stuart Henry and Dragan Milovanovic focus on reconstruction and redirection. Drawing together disparate perspectives,they analyze a number of key themes, including: human nature and behaviour; society and social order; the role of the law; the definitions of crime; crime causation; and justice policy and practice.