The Law School of the University of A Coruña hosted on 3-4 October an International Conference, organised by the ECRIM research group and entitled “Beyond Neoliberalism? Politics and Punishment in Contemporary Societies”.

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From left to right, Máximo Sozzo, Richard Sparks

The first day of the Conference (Thursday, October the 3rd) began with a lecture given by Richard Sparks (University of Edinburgh, UK), entitled “What’s going on? Some legitimation problems of the ‘neo-liberal’ penality”.

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From left to right, José Ángel Brandariz, David Vila, Manuel Maroto, Máximo Sozzo

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From left to right, David Vila, David Soto, José Ángel Brandariz, Máximo Sozzo

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From left to right, Ignacio Mendiola, José Ángel Brandariz

Richard Sparks’ lecture was followed by a panel session on “Sovereignty, Governmentaly and Punishment”. The panel began with a presentation given written by David San Martín (University of La Rioja, Spain) and David Vila (University of Zaragoza, Spain) on “Austere Government and Mundane Sovereignty”. Then David Soto (University of A Coruña, Spain) presented a paper written by Borxa Colmenero (University of A Coruña, Spain) on “Bio-politics and sovereign power in Spain: Continuities and discontinuities in the new political cycle”. The session also hosted a presentation given by Ignacio Mendiola (University of the Basque Country, Spain) on “The role of torture in the neoliberal regime” (Presentation).

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From left to right, Luz María Puente, Emma Bell

The Conference continued with a lecture given by Emma Bell (University of Savoy, France) reflecting on “There is an alternative: Challenging the logic of neoliberal punishment”.

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From left to right, Luz María Puente, Daniel Jiménez

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Among others, Luz María Puente, José Ángel Brandariz, Máximo Sozzo, from left to right

A panel session on “Great Recession and Criminal Justice” followed Emma Bell’s lecture. A presentation on “Punish and discipline? Penitentiary Jubilee and extended expulsion in the Iberian neo-liberalism”, given by Daniel Jiménez Franco (University of Zaragoza, Spain), opened the panel. Then José Ángel Brandariz (University of A Coruña, Spain) presented a paper on “Great Recession and Criminal Justice: Bad times for criticism?” (Presentation).

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From left to right, Luz María Puente, Alejandro Forero, Rita Faria

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From left to right, Luz María Puente, Claudio González, Rita Faria

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From left to right, Luz María Puente, Rita Faria, Claudio González

The first day of the Conference finished with a third panel session, entitled “Neoliberal Penality, Social Harm and Economic Crime”. The panel hosted a presentation given by Alejandro Forero (University of Barcelona, Spain) on “New ‘crisis’ and the production of harm: Which ungovernability?”. Then Claudio González (University of Malaga, Spain) lectured on “The influence of neoliberalism in Latin America’s criminal justice systems: The construction of a managerial paradigm in Chile and Costa Rica”. Finally, Rita Faria (University of Porto, Portugal) closed the panel presenting a paper on “Crisis, crime and criminology: Reflection on harms caused by the economic crisis and economic crimes in Portugal”.

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From left to right, Patricia Faraldo, José Ángel Brandariz, Leonidas Cheliotis, Máximo Sozzo

The second day of the Conference began with a lecture given by Leonidas Cheliotis (University of Edinburgh, UK), entitled “Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will: Redefining the Contours of Neoliberal Penality”.

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From left to right, Ignacio González, Máximo Sozzo

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From left to right, Manuel Maroto, Ignacio González, Máximo Sozzo, Richard Sparks

Leonidas Cheliotis’ lecture was followed by a panel session on “Great Reecession, Resistance and Punishment”. In the framework of this panel, Ignacio González (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) presented a paper on “Penalizing the Protest: Neoliberalism and the management of resistances”. Discussing on the same topic, Manuel Maroto (University of Castilla La Mancha, Spain) gave a presentation on “Criminal justice and the repression of political dissent: Some current trends in Spain”.

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From left to right, Patricia Faraldo, Máximo Sozzo

The last lecture of the Conference was given on 4 October by Máximo Sozzo (National University of the Litoral, Argentina), reflecting on “Beyond the punitive turn? Postneoliberalism and punishment in Argentina”.

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From left to right, Máximo Sozzo, Anabella Museri, Alejandra Otamendi

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From left to right, Luz María Puente, Alejandra Otamendi

In order to also examine the contours of penality in Latin America, Máximo Sozzo’s lecture was followed by a panel session which gathered two presentations given by Argentinian researchers. On the one hand, Anabella Museri (CELS, Argentina) presented a paper written by her and Paula Litvarchky entitled “Breaks and continuities in Criminal Justice: The reform of the flagrancia concept in Buenos Aires province”. On the other hand, Alejandra Otamendi (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) gave a presentation on “Public support of punitive policies at the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (2000-2010)”.

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From left to right, José Ángel Brandariz, Miguel Abel

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From left to right, José Ángel Brandariz, Santiago Ruiz, Miguel Abel

The last panel session of the Conference hosted two fairly different presentations, gathered under the title “Neoliberal Penality Issues”. First, Miguel Abel (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain) presented a paper on “Beyond Neoliberalism? Politics and punishment in money laundering” (Paper). Thereafter, Santiago Ruiz (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) gave a presentation on “The citizen (in)security in the neoliberal era: The case of Lavapiés”.