Evil, Law and the State

Evil, Law and the State is an inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary project which seeks to explore issues surrounding evil and law, with a focus on state power and violence.

Perspectives are sought from those engaged in any field that touches on the study of law and legal culture: anthropology, criminology, cultural studies, government/politics, history, legal studies, literature, philosophy, psychology, religion/theology, and sociology, as well as those working in civil rights, human rights, prison services, politics and government (including NGOs), psychiatry, healthcare, and other areas.

Among the themes which the project will seek to explore are;

• when and why is law evil or a source of evil?
• state violence and coercion
• justifications for punishment, including capital punishment
• whether and under what circumstances the adversary or inquisitorial models of legal process generate, tolerate, or allow evil outcomes
• issues of distributive justice in law, including distributing the costs of legal error
• the intersection of law with issues of choice, responsibility, and diminished responsibility
• state responsibility for terrorism, war, intervention, ethnic cleansing, and other problems of international law and international relations

The project will centre around an annual conference held each March in the United Kingdom and Europe. The work of the project is to be supported by an email discussion group, ISSN ejournal, ISBN publication series and an evolving research and resource centre.

Please contact the Project Leader for further information.