Anastasia Chamberlen, Embodying Punishment – Emotions, Identities, and Lived Experiences in Women’s Prisons
| Author | Anna Katharina Schliehe |
| DOI | 10.1177/1462474519830543 |
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
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important reminder for security scholars to study the micro-level in order to under-
stand the complex dynamics of securitization and security practices. Schuilenburg’s
conclusion is that “in real-life practice, the world of security turns out to be muddier
and messier than the molar perspective wishes to or could reveal” (p. 295).
Further, participation in security programs entails not only becoming part of a
partnership but also accepting public accountability for one’s actions. This public
accountability is seldom accepted or acknowledged, and Schuilenburg criticizes the
government for doing nothing to prevent abuse of responsibilities. This is an
important message to governments: “It is striking how little interest the govern-
ment is displaying in the issues of what the new parties are doing with the respon-
sibility in security” (p. 301).
While the book offers new insights into the messy realities of securitization, it is
missing a detailed presentation of the empirical data, a full illustration of the case
material. Instead, what is presented in detail, an extensive review of key theorists,
may actually cloak the book’s main arguments rather than accentuate them.
On a similar point, the methods and methodology section is very short. In a
three-page description in the introductory chapter (pp. 20–23), plus a four-page
introduction to the four case studies (pp. 163–166), we get a surprisingly brief
introduction to the research process and the data: Interviews (132 in total), obser-
vations and document and literature analysis. In a book that aims to contribute to
a more empirically oriented research on security programs and securitization,
I would have expected a more thorough methodological section.
These critiques notwithstanding, Schuilenburg offers a fresh theoretical and
empirical contribution at the nexus between criminology, policing studies and
critical security studies. His review of what Foucault, Deleuze and Tarde can
offer to this field is impressive, and his case studies can serve as an inspiration
for further research into the concrete realities of securitization.
References
Balzacq T (2010) Securitization Theory: How Security Problems Emerge and Dissolve.
Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Buzan B, Wæver O and Wilde J (1998) Security. A New Framework for Analysis. Boulder:
Lynne Rienner Publishers.
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