Punitive Populism Research Articles

Politics of phygital protests: Palestinian #GreatMarchofReturn discourse on Twitter

Twitter aids public discourse, hashtag activism and sociopolitical advocacy. In terms of Palestinian resistance discourse against Israel, the hashtag #GreatMarchofReturn represents a peaceful digital protest by the Palestinian refugees based in Gaza. We identified 13,000 tweets related to #GreatMarchofReturn, which we analysed using content analysis and descriptive analysis, followed by a visualization of the findings. We argue that hashtag activism facilitates the collective Palestinian protest discourse on Twitter about Israel’s oppressive diplomacies in Palestine. The activism endorses Palestinian nationalism and the mobilization of civilian rights. Moreover, the micro-blogging site becomes a significant platform for politicizing Israel’s punitive populism and subsequent subjugation of Palestinian refugees, especially in Gaza. The psycho-politics of phygital protests affects the socio-emotional mobilization of the Great March of Return in both virtual and physical public spheres.

Thoughts on the excessive margins of criminal policy in the state of Chiapas: Case of incest

The evolution of current societies has brought with it the disuse of certain crimes that in the past were conceived with paramount importance in the framework of the healthy order of community life and social coexistence. The object of our deliberation, on this occasion, is the configuration of the criminal type of Incest in the criminal catalog in force in the State of Chiapas. This crime has been chosen as a model for analysis to ponder the trend towards punitive populism that, from our perspective, embraces the state Penal Code, by proscribing a behavior that expresses, with the greatest possible emphasis, the human right to sexual freedom of its practitioners and that is seen as prohibitive even though in special assumptions and hypotheses, it does not transgress any protected legal interest, except that of public morality and good manners. We intend to wield conclusive arguments, in use of sexual self-determination and the free development of personality, that give light to our local legislators so that, in the near future, the penalization conducive to these behaviors in certain specific contexts is suppressed and the normative object of other criminal types that are closely related to it is updated.

Punitive populism: political manifestation vs. Criminal law. Life Imprisonment in Colombia

Este artículo trata, en primer lugar, el fenómeno del populismo como concepto de la ciencia política y la sociología, destacando sus rasgos principales y la tensión que genera con la democracia. Posteriormente, se hace un recorrido teórico del concepto de populismo punitivo desde una perspectiva de política criminal, para examinar cómo esta expansión irracional del derecho penal afecta negativamente principios y garantías que limitan al ius puniendi. Por último, estos hallazgos teóricos son aplicados al caso de la reforma constitucional colombiana que permite la cadena perpetua como pena de ciertos delitos graves, para determinar si dicha enmienda pude considerarse populista.

Elite punitive populism and youth justice reform in Chile: Legitimizing a new political order

Elite punitive populism and youth justice reform in Chile: Legitimizing a new political order

Ten Years Since Nirbhaya: A Critical Analysis of Retributive Justice in Addressing Sexual Violence

Following the infamous Nirbhaya gang rape incident in December, 2012, a host of rape law reforms were introduced in India, including stringent punishment and death penalty under the Criminal Law Amendment Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. This article questions the effectiveness of such punitive measures in dealing with sexual violence. While, the legislative reforms offer tougher sentencing, they place less emphasis on victims’ rights and also tend to ignore the social context in which sexual violence occurs. The present paper offers the critique of punitive populism of the legislation through four discourses: Rape as ‘loss of honour’, Rapists as a ‘monster’ syndrome, Perspectives of victimsurvivors and Retributive justice and marginalised identities. By exploring victim-survivors’ participation, restorative and transformational practices and acknowledging the larger socio-cultural context in which sexual violence takes place, this article sheds light on a range of strategies to address sexual violence from the perspectives of victims.

Practical consequences of punitive populism on the effectiveness of criminal reaction to criminality

El presente ensayo tiene por finalidad evidenciar las consecuencias que genera la emisión de leyes creando o modificando tipos penales, incrementando las penas o estableciendo nuevas más intensas, sin realizar un adecuado análisis de los presupuestos necesarios para definir si serán eficaces y proporcionales para reducir los índices de criminalidad. En los últimos años se viene advirtiendo que las iniciativas legislativas tienen como sustento intereses políticos particulares que no responden a la necesidad de establecer políticas que permitan contrarrestar el crimen. Así, será posible advertir que los legisladores recurren a medidas populistas para enfrentar el crimen, aprovechando el miedo y la necesidad de protección que tiene la sociedad, sin importar que dichas medidas en muchos casos sean inconstitucionales. Además, se presentará algunas alternativas de solución para coadyuvar con el establecimiento de políticas públicas que sean eficaces para reducir los índices de criminalidad en el país.

Embedded authoritarianism: the politics of poor press freedom in Indian Kashmir

The current article explores journalism practice amid waning press freedom in Indian Kashmir. Contextualising the recent renovation and introduction of authoritative new media policy 2020, the article maps the constant struggles of the journalists in the region. I consulted five working journalists to have a broader understanding of press freedom in Indian Kashmir, one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. I argue that frequent internet shutdowns, disinformation, declining dissent and direct control on the press contribute to the amassing struggles of Kashmiri journalists. The strategic politics endorse jingoism and punitive populism, which affects the overall image of Kashmiris including the journalists. Constructive journalism practice, however, aids Chomsky’s claim of “openings”, which keep the press viable during the severe authoritarian siege on the press freedom in Kashmir.

Michelle D. Bonner, Tough on Crime: The Rise of Punitive Populism in Latin America (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), pp. xi + 204, $40.00, hb.

Michelle D. Bonner, Tough on Crime: The Rise of Punitive Populism in Latin America (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), pp. xi + 204, $40.00, hb.

What is punitive populism? A typology based in media communication

Punitive populism refers to political leaders’ use of tough-on-crime rhetoric and policies to win elections and popular support. Yet, this basic definition does not capture the range of ways the practice manifests itself. Refining the concept, this article identifies three key types of punitive populism: authoritarian, conflicted, and accountable. The typology highlights the intersecting importance of media systems and political ideology to the definition of each type. Reflecting on over fifteen years of research on the topic, the article is centred on concept development, with illustrative examples from Argentina and Chile.

Populist Punitiveness in the Italian Populistic Yellow-Green Government

In this article we present a general interpretation of the recent tendency of Italian political forces to promote laws in the criminal field aimed more at producing political consensus of an emotional kind than at addressing real legal and social needs. In particular we'll demonstrate how the social trend could be classified as 'populist punitiveness', which has become stronger with the so-called populist turn of the Italian political system during the early 90s of the last century, and how it has become a permanent trait of the neo-populist forces that have dominated the Italian political scene for the past twenty-five years. In particular, we will analyse the government formed by the Northern League and the 5 Star Movement, also called the yellow-green government, headed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, in power from June 2018 to September 2019. We will highlight how some of the most significant criminal laws have followed a general pattern that corresponds to a punitive vision of society, aimed at fostering feelings of fear and protection that are irrational rather than grounded. Our thesis is that the neo-populist turn of the Italian system has not only profoundly transformed the system and political structures of the country but also civil society and the public opinion, rebalancing entire spheres of the Italian social and political system.

Migration, Fears and the Media in the Presidential Election in Chile (2017)

Migration has been defined as the threatening other in Latin America; Chile is no exception. Based on the conceptualization of the imagined community, this article analyzes the importance and characteristics of press media coverage on migration and punitive populism in the framework of the Presidential election of 2017 in Chile. A random sample of all the informative pieces of the two main newspapers throughout 2017 was analyzed. Migration has become a topic of national debate. The media show a political discourse focused on punitive populism, the unnecessary generalization of stigmatizing images, and the consolidation of a metaphor that links migration with danger, mainly criminality. The more chronic-oriented than analysis-oriented characteristic of the coverage makes it possible to emphasize in the threatening and politically profitable images. Possibly trying to protect that community that the political discourse constantly highlights.

Punitive Circuits: The Limitations of Penal Populism Regarding Criminalization Practices of Transgender Women and Transvestites in an Argentinian Red-Light District

This article analyses transgender women and transvestites’ criminalization practices in a red-light district, from two investigations located in La Plata city, Argentina. In order to achieve this proposal, we apply urban and action research tools to analyze security ensembles between different state agencies and neighborhood groups, so that the ways in which such practices are legitimized and become possible can be addressed. The daily regulation of inhabited spaces allows us to visualize disputes over the forms of appropriation, and to historicize social control of the supply of sex in the public space. Under this casuistry, we question limitations of the notion of punitive populism. We propose the figure of punitive circuits to visualize the territorial specificities linked to the insecurity that moral and criminal control practices have over the red-light district, and the multiplicity of people and agencies that intervene in its course.

Exploring the Bottom-Up Reform of Sex Offender Registration in China: Carceral Feminism and Populist Authoritarianism

In 2017, the Minhang District of Shanghai introduced sex offender registration. This reform attracted positive reactions on social media. Local governments in Jiangsu, Guangdong and Chongqing quickly followed the precedent. In 2019, the central government announced that it will establish national sex offender registries by 2022, although it limited the scope of registration to paedophiles. This study explores how this bottom-up reform unfolded and what implications it has in theory and practice. Based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of 2261 posts on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, this study reveals two major players in the current reform: the Chinese feminists who are pursuing a punitive agenda online (a phenomenon known as ‘carceral feminism’), and the local governments that are eager to win the public’s trust, although such trust is mainly reserved for the central authority in the Chinese political culture (a culture known as ‘populist authoritarianism’). Drawing on the findings, this study pushes the discussion about Chinese penal policy beyond the dichotomy of ‘penal professionalism’ and ‘penal populism’. It argues that while the influence of professionalism is evident in central-level policy making, local penal policies can be easily led by populist punitiveness. The latter deserves more academic attention. This study also takes a non-partisan approach to the feminist movements on Chinese social media. It reveals the class conflicts and regional inequality underlying the gender schism. The polarisation effect in online discussion is also highlighted, which alerts policy makers to the reliability of ‘public opinion’ online. (246 words).

Tough on Crime: The Rise of Punitive Populism in Latin America. By Michelle D. Bonner. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019. 220p. $40.00 cloth.

Tough on Crime: The Rise of Punitive Populism in Latin America. By Michelle D. Bonner. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019. 220p. $40.00 cloth.

LIFE IMPRISONMENT AS AN ANSWER TO CONTEMPORARY SECURITY CHALLENGES - THE (IN)ADEQUACY OF THE RETRIBUTIVE APPROACH –

Contemporary Serbian criminal legislation characterizes the concept of expansionism – the strengthening of the prescribed penalties and extending the limits of criminal repression (“punitive populism”), as legislative response to the trends of criminality, potential security challenges and public attitudes on the adequacy of the social response to the phenomenon of crime. The latest in a series of legislative changes envisages the introduction of life imprisonment as a new penalty in the criminal sanction system and, at the same time, the abolition of (long-term) imprisonment from thirty up to forty years. The severity of the criminal law reaction is reflected not only in the introduction of life imprisonment, but also in the prohibition of conditional release for the convicted, to life imprisonment for certain serious crimes, although such a solution is often challenged in comparative and international jurisprudence. The aim of this paper is to review the justification of introducing life imprisonment in our criminal legislation and to point out the (in)acceptability of certain normative solutions; to determine the potential scope and effects of life imprisonment as penalty, that is, to critically analyze the adequacy of the retributive approach in relation to the trends of criminality and contemporary security challenges.

Contextual Influences on the Sentencing of Individuals Convicted of Sexual Crimes.

This study examines effects of court and community contextual factors on sentencing outcomes for individuals convicted of sexual crimes using indicators from two perspectives-focal concerns and populist punitiveness. Sourced from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, the sample includes 9,431 persons convicted of sexual crimes and a precision-matched sample of persons convicted of non-sexual violent crimes for comparison. Based on multilevel hurdle regression models for both incarceration and sentence length decisions, results indicate that individuals convicted of sexual crimes face enhanced sentence severity in judicial districts with smaller courts, increased jail capacity, stronger political competition, and higher religious homogeneity. The results also suggest statistically significant differences between effects for persons convicted of sexual crimes and a matched sample of persons convicted of violent crimes. Overall, results suggest that specific contextual factors have a distinguishable impact on sentencing of individuals convicted of sexual crimes.

Shifting Epistemology of Juvenile Justice in India

Abstract The conception of juvenile justice has its ontological root in the internationalisation of childhood and construction of children as a distinct social class. The Euro-centric vision of children as rights-possessors that informed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1989) transformed the epistemology of juvenile justice. India ratified the CRC in 1992, and defined ‘child’ uniformly, irrespective of sex, unlike in the past, thereby challenging its gendered subjectivity of ‘female child.’ Such an emergence of a new modality of delivering juvenile justice that I see as the epistemic shift did not last long, and one gory incident, alongside mediatised demonisation of male children, and brewing social discontent on women’s safety, changed its landscape. This paper foregrounds an analysis of the role of gender in juvenile justice jurisprudence from the colonial period to the present time. Reflecting on the populist punitiveness at play, it talks about the Indian state’s poverty of understanding of children’s rights. Mapping legislative, juridical and political dimensions of the journey of the juvenile justice framework in India, the paper shows how construction of gendered notions of a particular group of male child offenders has resulted in the punitive turn of the juvenile justice system in India. It further unpacks the potentiality of repercussions of such punitiveness, and offers reasons as to why a retributive response by the state is a step backwards in reforming juvenile delinquents. Overall, it narrates the story of a political-systemic failure to deal with an important social issue, which may act as a lesson to be learnt with respect to the child governance framework, both for the countries in South Asia and the wider global South.

The inmate as a victim of the rise in the incarceration rate and the perception of insecurity in western society. A particular analysis of the Chilean case.

Often, the discussion about the victim in the penal process recognizes only the crime victim and doesn’t take into consideration that the inmate, the person deprived of liberty, might also be a victim of the criminal justice system. This paper analyses the issue of mass imprisonment with particular attention to the Chilean case. The excessive and selective use of the deprivation of freedom has become a controlling tool, filling our prisons with those excluded from society. After a general analysis, we will investigate the causes of mass imprisonment: the dismantling of the Welfare State (followed by tougher punishment) and punitive populism (result of a vindictive demagogic attitude). We believe that the selection by which it operates, the effects that it produces and the resulting advantages for the privileged minorities make this not only illegitimate but also intolerable in a democratic society. We will conclude with a realistic proposal, an alternative to mass imprisonment, compatible with respect for human dignity.

Not in My Backyard: Public Sex Offender Registries and Public Notification Laws

In Canada, the community risk management strategy utilized does not include a publicly available sex offender registry. While there is a non-public national sex offender registry for police investigation purposes, in recent years, there has been ongoing pressure to import American sex offender registry and notification (SORN) laws in Canada. Such pressure has been supplemented by the emergence of an increasing number of individual initiatives mimicking these policies by providing personal information through various means about individuals convicted of sex crimes. Since their inception, the American SORN laws have been the subject of much debate among scholars, policy makers, and the Victims’ Rights Movement. Despite the popularity of American-style SORN laws among certain circles, policy evaluation research has not presented convincing evidence that such measures carry a crime prevention impact. In fact, American scholars have highlighted several issues, problems, and challenges that are overlooked by promoters of SORN policies in Canada. The mere presence of such policies in the U.S. should not be interpreted as an indication of good policing of sexual violence and abuse. A concerted scientific approach rather than punitive populism is much needed to tackle the issue of sexual violence and abuse in Canada.

Ultima ratio karakter krivičnog prava u svetlu krivičnog dela Građenje bez građevinske dozvole (čl. 219a KZ)

In this Article, author explained one of basic principles of Criminal law - their ultima ratio character as a part of legitimacy policy. The last resort has been presented as an important method in law-making process, as well as in its application. Thus, both parliament and judicial authorities should start from main purpose of Criminal law, avoiding extensive usage of mechanisms in general and not allowing prevalling influence of punitive populism. These theoretical postulates are presented as a fundament for analysis of criminal offence Construction without a which is prescribed by article 219a of Criminal Code of Serbia. The author showed some imperfections of positive provision such as the attack on lex certa as a part of legal principle through shortcomings of legislative technical regulation; potential misunderstanding of building permit meaning; restitution claim non-use, despite it can bring some economic benefits. Also, it was emphasized that same conduct from Art. 219a CC is (at most) prescribed by secondary law (Planning and Construction Law) as a commercial offence, which can have proceeding impact onne bis in idem principle. The protected object is vague because the property is a little bit far away of administrative procedure which is substantially contained in following provisions. Also, we point to praxis which is created by public authorities.The potential problem with this incrimination can be non efficiency influence on those to whom is addressed. In future, legislator may think about decriminalization of this offence through transforming it in commercial offence or misdemeanor. If it is a big step from sociopolitical aspect, space for improving current norm will be still opened in a legislative technical way.