Top ten International Affairs 2023 summer reading list: Unravelling the Crime Development Nexus by Jarrett Blaustein
Book Reviews Editor Mariana Vieira selects Unravelling the Crime Development Nexus by Jarrett Blaustein, Tom Chodor and Nathan W Pino as one of ten International Affairs summer reading list for 2023.
“An empirically rich book that tells a complex story with many moving parts.”
Author and University of Ottawa Postdoctoral Fellow Lou Pingeot says the book contributes to broader debates on the construction of ‘problems’ in global governance, the role of international organizations in the (re)production of hegemonic orders and the continuities between the colonial past and the postcolonial present.
Unraveling the crime-development nexus can accurately be judged by its title and beautiful cover. It provides a breath of fresh air, questioning the institutionalization of the global crime agenda at the United Nations and argues that the decades-long link between crime and development must be contextualized in the history of international capitalist development. The authors puts forward a powerful interdisciplinary critique of the depoliticized and technocratic framework that international society relies on today. The book leaves readers persuaded that a shift away from ‘crime’ towards ‘harm’, and from ‘development’ to ‘sustainability’, is vital.
Read the full review here.
