Counter-Colonial Criminology : A Critique of Imperialist Reason

This book will revolutionize the study of criminology throughout the world and promote the discipline especially in the Third World. ... A groundbreaking book ... [offering ] dazzling brilliance in the development of criminological theory. Ihekwoaba D. Onwudiwe, Associate Professor, Dept. of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland Eastern Shore“It adopts an insightful theoretical approach to the study of criminology. I find the interdisciplinary approach appealing”. Jerry Dibua, Morgan State UniversityThis book is about how the history of colonialism has shaped the definition of crime and justice systems not only in former colonies but also in colonialist countries. Biko Agozino argues that criminology in the West was originally tested in the colonies and then brought back to mother countries -- in this way, he claims, the colonial experience has been instrumental in shaping modern criminology in colonial powers. He looks at how radical critiques of mainstream criminology by critical feminist and postmodernist thinkers contribute to an understanding of the relationship between colonial experience and criminology. But he also shows that even critical feminist and postmodernist assessments of conventional criminology do not go far enough as they remain virtually silent on colonial issues. Biko Agozino considers African and other postcolonial literature and contributions to counter colonial criminology, their originality, relevance and limitations. Finally he advocates a “committed objectivity” approach to race-class-gender criminology investigations in order to come to terms with imperialistic and neo-colonialist criminology. This is a collection of interconnected papers which examines the impact of colonialism on the development of mainstream criminology. The result is, as the Preface points out, “a scholarly discipline dedicated to the study of crime, the criminal and the criminal law that focuses almost exclusively upon the actions of lawbreaking individuals, while turning a blind eye to the mass terrorism imposed upon innocent people by slavery, colonialism and their continuing legacies.” (Stephen Pfohl). The author argues that criminology in the West was originally tested in the colonies and then brought back to mother countries – in this way, he claims, the colonial experience has been instrumental in shaping modern criminology Focusing upon a specific facet of the history of colonialism, Biko Agozino shows how criminology in the West was originally tested in the colonies and then imported back into the mother countries. This volume breaks new ground in the development of criminological theory