1968: Protest and the Growth of a Critical Criminology

The Strategy of Tension: Understanding State Labeling Processes and Double-Binds

“…What can we learn from looking at the course and consequences of the likes of the Roman Republic's "ultimate decree," which promised "to see that the State comes to no harm" (Beard 2015)? Can we compare moral panics and measures of suppression related to terrorism today with those directed toward the mob, the Jacobins and the communists over previous centuries (Clement 2016)?…”

“…The literature on social movements (e.g., Beck 2015;Ruggiero and Montagna 2008) has, of course, addressed many of these questions. As criminologists, we integrate some of the insights on social movements with the social reaction perspective, as proposed by Cohen (1974)-namely that the purpose behind the creation of folk devils was realized in Italy in the 1970s through a two-phase process that began with state repression, then consolidated through incorporation of the old left and isolation of the new social movements, allowing further repression (Clement and Scalia 2016).…”

“…Since 1976, the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and the CD had endorsed not only austerity measures but also the repressive policing and new laws repressing dissenting opinions which drove a wedge between the "old left" of reform and historic compromise and the "new left" of revolution and protest movements. This division isolated and divided the opposition-and left the BR with no political space to enact a revolutionary strategy; instead, it provided the Italian government with the opportunity to enact a repressive strategy based on prevention (Clement and Scalia 2016).…”