The Politics of Crime, Law and Development in Historical Perspective

This chapter examines the politics of crime, law and development. It argues that combating crime and legal reform have been part of the development agenda since its inception after World War II, as development actors sought to create the legal system necessary for capitalist development in the periphery while also addressing the criminogenic consequences of this development. Throughout this period, the understandings of the 'crime-development nexus' were framed by the dominant development theories of the time, but the overriding concern remained the same: to remake the Global South in the interests of the Global North. The chapter explores the politics of crime, law and development during the three eras of development - the Cold War, the neoliberal period, and the current era of human development - outlining the evolution of the crime-development nexus and the ways in which it shaped development projects.