Judith A. Ryder

Seeking to better understand the processes that push teenage girls to acts of criminal violence, Judith Ryder explores the relationship between disrupted emotional bonds and violent delinquency. Ryder draws on intimate interviews to show how teenage girls navigate experiences of abuse, emotional loss, and parental abandonment, revealing how their violent acts become a means of connecting with  More >

Jakob Tolstrup

Do Russia and the European Union have any substantial influence over the political trajectories of post-Soviet states? Shedding new light on the interplay between domestic and external drivers of regime change, Jakob Tolstrup analyzes the impact of Russia and the EU on the democratization and autocratization processes in Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.  More >

Nicholas L. Parsons

Ice. Methedrine. Crank. Crystal. Whatever its guise, the social and political contexts of methamphetamine share a certain uniqueness. Nicholas Parsons chronicles the history and mythology of methamphetamine in the United States from the 1940s—when it was hailed as a wonder drug—to the present. In an intriguing analysis, he also makes an important contribution to our understanding of  More >

Lori Riverstone-Newell

When state and federal governments intrude, abdicate responsibility, or prove unable to respond to local needs, how can cities fight back? How can they promote and defend their own interests? Addressing these questions, Lori Riverstone-Newell explores the emergence of local policy activism and its impact in a number of state and federal policy arenas.  More >

Michele Wakin

Privacy, mobility, dignity—living in a vehicle offers many advantages over life in a shelter or on the street. Michele Wakin broadens our understanding of homelessness by exploring the growing phenomenon of vehicle living and how it differs from other forms of makeshift housing.     Incorporating both quantitative data and ethnographic work in California, Wakin takes us into  More >

Karyl Kicenski

What explains the boom in private prisons—especially since the record of privatization for rehabilitating prisoners and saving taxpayer dollars is, at best, mixed? Karyl Kicenski examines the privatization of California state prisons to illuminate the forces that shape and distort our criminal justice policies. Tracing the growth of private prisons from 1980 to the current day, Kicenski  More >

Rachel Zimmer Schneider

When is killing an abusive partner an act of murder, and when is it self-defense? How does our criminal justice system deal with battered women who kill, and to what effect? Rachel Schneider traces the lives of women who sought clemency after being imprisoned for killing their abusers, drawing on a series of intimate interviews to explore the circumstances leading up to the killings, the  More >

Cassia Spohn and Katharine Tellis

Cassia Spohn and Katharine Tellis assess the criminal justice system's response to sexual assault, exploring the complex dynamics that shape the actions of police and prosecutors. The authors draw on unparalleled access to Los Angeles detectives, prosecutors, and case files to make sense of the factors that affect the outcomes of sexual assault claims. Following cases from victim report, to  More >

Glenn W. Muschert, Stuart Henry, Nicole L. Bracy, and Anthony A. Peguero, editors

Why do so many school antiviolence programs backfire? And why do policymakers keep making the same mistakes? The authors of Responding to School Violence examine the pervasive rise of school security measures since the Columbine shootings, highlighting the unintended consequences of policymaking too often shaped by fear and sensationalism. Probing an array of now ubiquitous tactics and  More >

Lise Storm

What are the prospects for democracy in North Africa in the wake of the Arab Spring? Addressing that question, Lise Storm provides a rich analysis of party politics in the region. Storm focuses on Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria, examining the key characteristics and political dynamics of each country's party system as they have evolved over time. Her research sheds light not only on the  More >