Contagion, Counter-terrorism and Criminology ― Justice in the Shadow of Terror

This book provides a detailed exploration of the impact of counter-terrorism measures on the penal trajectories of three EU countries: the UK, France and Poland. Through detailed, empirical and theoretically-informed analysis, it explores the synergistic relationship between counter-terrorism measures and control-measures aimed at ‘ordinary’ crimes, in order to map the process of “contagion”. The field of counter-terrorism has been identified by both academics and stakeholders alike as one which holds particular potential for the adoption of more punitive strategies. Without more detailed scrutiny of the impact of EU counter terrorism legislation and policy, important questions about the real character of criminal justice in the EU remain unanswered.

Contagion, Counter-Terrorism and Criminology also probes the hegemonic power of terrorism and the securitization agenda more generally, and discusses the implications for criminology as a discipline. It brings critical criminological insights, concerning macro level penal transformation (i.e. the discourse on punitiveness and risk), into an area traditionally dominated by law and human rights scholars. Hamilton’s analysis of these three countries should be of interest to students and scholars of criminology, criminal justice, law, human rights, security studies, politics, international relations and socio-legal studies.

Claire Hamilton is senior lecturer in Law at Maynooth University, Ireland. She practised as a barrister in criminal law until 2004, when she became a full-time academic. Prior to joining Maynooth University, she worked for several years as a lecturer in criminology in Dublin Institute of Technology and Queen's University Belfast. She is the author/editor of four books, the most recent of which is the Routledge Handbook of Irish Criminology. She is also President of the Irish Association of Law Teachers.