Delinquency and Juvenile Justice Systems in the Non-Western World

Why has youth crime been rising in the developing countries, and how well have their juvenile justice systems responded to this trend? This anthology profiles delinquency rates and juvenile justice systems in chapters on China, India, Japan, Macao, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey. Each nation's distinctive response to youth crime is described in the contexts of its indigenous culture and customary law, and of its historical encounters with external legal traditions: the latter include common law, civil law, Islamic law, socialist law, and Asian philosophies.

The authors link the growth of juvenile crime in the developing world to the emerging cultural emphases on individualism and materialism, which are viewed as byproducts of modlernization. In their introduction, the editors also highlight commonalities and differences among the juvenile justice systems profiled, including their levels of compliance with international standards for juvenile justice.