Professor Elliott P. Currie has co-edited “Progressive Justice in an Age of Repression: Strategies for Challenging the Rise of the Right” (Routledge, 2019).
The book “brings together an international group of scholars to discuss the resurgence of far-right thinking and policies around issues ranging from crime to immigration to reproductive rights and more, and to propose new strategies to address them,” Currie notes. “Our aim was to both shed light on the sources of the recent advances of the ‘populist’ right, and to take a hard look at some reasons why progressives have often been less than effective at countering those advances.”
Currie is professor of criminology, law and society. His expertise is in criminal justice policy in the U.S. and other countries, causes of violent crime, social context of delinquency and youth violence, etiology of drug abuse and the assessment of drug policy, race and criminal justice.
In addition to Currie’s contributions, the book also includes articles by James Diego Vigil, emeritus professor of criminology, law and society, as well as UCI alumni Tim Goddard, Randy Myers and Sonya Goshe, who completed their doctoral degrees in criminology, law and society.
According to the publisher, “Progressive Justice in an Age of Repression” is “a clarion for strategic thinking, a call for action fuelled by informed analysis, and a reimagining of the progressive society that is under attack by populism and a rising right.”
The book reviews include:
From Francis T. Cullen, distinguished research professor emeritus from the University of Cincinnati: “This volume offers sober analysis of the deep socio-political roots triggering today’s repressive crime control policies. The contributors show the dangers of complacency and the urgent need for progressive resistance. Masterfully edited by Walter DeKeseredy and Elliott Currie, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking guidance on how to advance a more humane justice system within an era defined by the Trump presidency.”
And, from Tony Jefferson, professor emeritus from Keele University: “Reading this book provoked many thoughts about the enormity of the challenges posed across a whole spectrum of crime-related issues. However, it was also a reminder of the expertise and commitment to change that exists in the criminological community. A beacon of light in dark times.”