In many countries, one can witness a growing reliance on criminal technologies and institutions and the increasing criminalization of different groups and actions, such as sex work, sea rescue, or hate speech. Criminalisation may represent both a pathway for the mobilization of citizen rights on the one hand and a challenge to participatory and transparent democratic processes on the other hand. ž
The CrimScapes project explores the increasing mobilization of criminal law, crime control measures, and imaginaries of (il)legality and the role within and implication for democratic governance across the European Union. In doing so, this research team brings a new perspective on the politics of criminalisation by analyzing the different motivations, implications, and challenges of criminalisation in today’s turbulent economic, social, and political world.
Team members use a variety of research methods and data sources, such as archival and ethnographic research, synthesizing data, and cross-case analysis. Based in Poland, Germany, France, and Finland and looking at seven different fields of criminalisation, the team collaborates closely and aims at a trans-local analysis of trends and implications of criminalisation as governmental strategy, producing a variety of exciting outcomes, such as a closing conference, a special issue, a policy brief, and a visually-captivating "EthnoGraphic novel."
Contact:
crimscapes.de
Lead PI: beate.binder@hu-berlin.de