Proud to Punish: The Global Landscapes of Rough Justice

Proud to Punish is a book that examines the use of force to settle accounts and enforce legal and moral norms outside the formal framework of the law. It explores the global phenomenon of rough justice, including vigilantism, lynch mobs, people's courts, and death squads, and how digital networks have provided a profitable arena for vigilantes. The book highlights the pride of those who seek rough justice and the new punitive celebrations that actualize, publicize, and commercialize it.

Format: Hardback
Length: 234 pages
Publication date: 09 January 2024
Publisher: Stanford University Press

A comprehensive comparative study, Proud to Punish delves into the contemporary phenomenon of rough justice, examining the widespread use of force to settle accounts and enforce legal and moral norms beyond the confines of the formal legal system. While manifesting in various forms, such as vigilantism, lynch mobs, people's courts, and death squads, all practitioners of rough justice thrive on the deliberate blurring of lines between law enforcement and those who engage in misconduct. The digital realm has provided a fertile ground for vigilantes, who leverage social media platforms to cultivate a following and disseminate their actions, often degrading the bodies of accused individuals for the sake of edification and entertainment. This unabashed pride in punishing, coupled with the emergence of new punitive celebrations that actively publicize, commodify, and commercialize it, forms the central focus of this book. Presented in engaging prose, Proud to Punish serves as a comprehensive global atlas of rough justice in the present day, while also shedding light on the intricate nature of punishment as a social and political phenomenon.

A comprehensive comparative study, Proud to Punish delves into the contemporary phenomenon of rough justice, examining the widespread use of force to settle accounts and enforce legal and moral norms beyond the confines of the formal legal system. While manifesting in various forms, such as vigilantism, lynch mobs, people's courts, and death squads, all practitioners of rough justice thrive on the deliberate blurring of lines between law enforcement and those who engage in misconduct. The digital realm has provided a fertile ground for vigilantes, who leverage social media platforms to cultivate a following and disseminate their actions, often degrading the bodies of accused individuals for the sake of edification and entertainment. This unabashed pride in punishing, coupled with the emergence of new punitive celebrations that actively publicize, commodify, and commercialize it, forms the central focus of this book. Presented in engaging prose, Proud to Punish serves as a comprehensive global atlas of rough justice in the present day, while also shedding light on the intricate nature of punishment as a social and political phenomenon.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503636569