Crime, risk and security

This unit provides a theoretical background to the challenges facing contemporary criminology nationally and internationally, identifying and interrogating the narratives that make up the diverse perceptions of crime, the evolution of 'risk society', ideas of local and global security/insecurity and the impact this has on rights and liberties. It employs an advanced critical analysis of the nature of 'risk society' and, importantly, the responses by various agencies and organisations to 'threats' within and beyond the state. These include theories on violence, legitimacy, governance, securitization and resistance articulated within sociological, political, human rights as well as criminological frameworks. The unit builds and extends on knowledge gained in previous units and applies seminal theoretical scholarship in conjunction with cutting edge research to address some of the most pressing criminological issues facing our contemporary world.