Criminalisation of Dissent in Times of Crisis

This book provides a wide-ranging, global exploration of policies and practices which have sought to undermine dissent during recent and less recent social, political, economic and health ’crises’. Examining various cases of activism and opposition from both the Global North and the Global South, and drawing on multi-disciplinary insights, this book analyses the many ways in which state and non-state actors have targeted dissent, activism and protest, including by vulnerable groups. This includes strategies that have silenced dissenting opinions, restricted the right to protest, intensified policing practices and the surveillance of activists, imposed onerous administrative fines, criminalised and prosecuted dissenters, and even killed activists. Fundamentally, this volume considers ’criminalisation’ as a process that develops on a continuum of control and repressive practices that aim to undermine dissent. It contributes to the broader discussion on criminalisation processes, policing, the rule of law, and the quality of our democracies.

Anna Di Ronco is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Essex, UK, and Director of its Centre for Criminology.

Rossella Selmini is Associate Professor of Criminology at the Department of Legal Sciences at the University of Bologna, Italy.