Overview

Why are some harms defined as crimes while others are not? This pioneering collection disrupts the boundaries of criminology, offering a bold, innovative exploration of crime, state power and social harm across historical and global contexts. Bridging zemiology, governmentality studies, and decolonial theory, this book offers a fresh perspective on how the colonial roots and ongoing dynamics of global capitalism perpetuate harm, particularly in the Global South. Through compelling case studies on topics such as tourism, drugs, non-human animals, food, ecology, minoritized groups and migration, it reveals how colonial legacies and structural injustices shape who experiences harm, whose experiences are acknowledged - and how harm may be resisted.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lynne Copson (The Open University) ,  Eleni Dimou (The Open University) ,  Steve Tombs (The Open University)
Publisher:   Bristol University Press
Imprint:   Bristol University Press
ISBN:  

9781529239829

ISBN 10:   1529239826
Pages:   324
Publication Date:   28 November 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

1. The War on Drugs: From Crime to Harm? - Giulia Zampini and Camille Stengel 2. Consuming Drugs: Soft Drugs, Colonialism and Slavery - Eleni Dimou 3. Dealing in Drugs: Crime, Harm and ‘Big Pharma’ - Steve Tombs 4. Criminology, Harm and Nonhuman Animals - Matthew Cole 5. Crime, Harm and Sexuality - Teresa Willis 6. Where's the Harm in Tourism? - Eleni Dimou 7. Crime and Harm in the Food Industry - Steve Tombs 8. Making Borders: The State, Making Law and Order? - Gerry Mooney and Steve Tombs 9. Crossing Borders: The ‘Refugee Crisis’ - Evgenia Iliadou 10. Policing Borders: States of Surveillance - Teresa Willis 11. Challenging Borders: State Crime, Social Harm and Genocide - Penny Green 12. Beyond Borders: Power, Environmental Harms and the Threat of Global Ecocide - Nigel South and Reece Walters 13. Redrawing Borders: Criminology’s relationship to Crime, Harm and The State - Lynne Copson

Reviews

'A critical account of the possibilities of criminology for addressing the injustices of historical and social harm, as well as the discipline’s inherent limitations. It speaks to the authors’ research trajectories.' Gustavo Rojas-Páez, University of Sussex

Author Information

Lynne Copson is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at The Open University. Eleni Dimou is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at The Open University. Steve Tombs is Professor of Criminology at the Open University. He has a long-standing interest in the incidence, nature and regulation of corporate and state crime, and has published widely on these matters. He works closely with the Hazards movement in the UK, was a founding member and Chair of the Centre for Corporate Accountability, and is on the Board of Inquest.

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