Pandemic Police Power, Public Health and the Abolition Question

This book explores how police power has expanded into the field of public health during the pandemic, highlighting the potential for abuse of constitutional power and the need to apply the abolition question consistently to public health policies. It examines the historical context of slavery, the growth of the police and prison abolition movement, and the ways in which police power operates in various aspects of society beyond the criminal justice system. The book argues that the most normative response is the abolition of police power and seeks to re-examine our relationship to health sovereignty.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 19 February 2023
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This book delves into a profound exploration of the expansion of police power beyond its traditional confines of criminal law into the realm of public health during the pandemic. While the world grappled with the surge of anti-police violence protests, particularly in the United States, a stark contrast emerged in the public health sphere. The government and medical science openly and notoriously policed the population, exerting their authority in the realm of public health.

The book takes a critical stance, examining the potential abuse of constitutional power inherent in public health policing. It raises the crucial question of whether the abolitionist discourse should be consistently applied to the states' discourse in the area of public health, particularly in light of the disproportionate burden that black people worldwide continue to bear as a result of public health policies.

The chapters within this book delve into contemporary policing, providing a historical context that encompasses slavery, the growth of the police and prison abolition movement, and the need for its broader application. It explores how police power permeates society beyond the criminal justice system, manifesting in various domains such as finance, technology, housing, education, and medicine and health science. The book aims to re-examine our relationship with health sovereignty and police power on a fundamental level.

Through its insights, the book argues for the abolition of policing as the most normative response to the convergence of policing and social control of humans. It sheds light on the complexities and challenges of dismantling this powerful institution, recognizing the urgent need for transformative change in our societal structures.

Weight: 386g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030930332
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022