Description
Book SynopsisHow our political and legal systems criminalise protesters
Trade Review'Protesters often end up in criminal courts. Even so, and despite sporadic efforts, social science has long neglected the criminalization of protest. In this welcome comparative study, Carolijn Terwindt skilfully examines the complex interplay between law and protest, making an important contribution to an overlooked topic' -- Steven Barkan, author of 'Protesters on Trial: Criminal Justice in the Southern Civil Rights and Vietnam Antiwar Movements'
'Carolijn Terwindt reveals how courtroom narratives often attribute criminality to ideologies or associations going so far as to apply 'terrorism' sentencing enhancements to American environmental activists rather than to actions. This timely and meticulous analysis helps inform how the politics of law impact citizen efforts to draw attention to, and rectify, unjust practices by those in power' -- Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director of the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute
'Drawing on three well-chosen and meticulously developed case studies, Carolijn Terwindt's lucid analysis demonstrates how, far from being neutral applications of the law, prosecutorial narratives become sites of contention that can exacerbate long standing socio political conflicts' -- Patricia Richards, Meigs Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies, University of Georgia
Table of ContentsSeries Preface
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Introduction
PART I: LAW, POLITICS AND LEGITIMACY IN LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES
2. When Groups Take Justice into Their Own Hands
3. The Prosecutorial Narrative and the Double Bind of Liberal Legalism
4. Mobilizing the Power of Victimhood
5. Challenging the State’s Crime Definition
PART II: WHEN PROSECUTORS RESPOND: NARRATIVES IN ACTION
ETA cases in Spain
6. Casting the Net Wider by Calling the Armed Group a Network 112
7. Narrating Praise for ETA Prisoners as Humiliation of Victims
“Mapuche conflict” cases in Chile
8. Vacillating between Criminalization and Negotiation
9. Responding to Allegations of Racism and Repression against the Mapuche People
“Eco-terrorism” cases in the United States
10. Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Prosecutions
11. Drawing a Boundary between Raising Awareness and Intimidation
12. Conclusion: The Prosecutor’s Contested Claim to Criminal Justice
References
Interviews
Trial Transcripts
Index
