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The Europeanization of Human Rights

An Obstacle to Authoritarian Policing in Ireland?

Institute of Public Administration, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, bvaughan{at}ipa.ie

Shane Kilcommins

University College Cork, Republic of Ireland, S.Kilcommins{at}ucc.ie

There is a widespread conviction that contemporary criminal justice developments can best be analysed in terms of their capacity to reassure an anxious public rather than to reduce crime in any straightforward way. Construing current changes as primarily driven by efforts to placate public insecurity downplays several crucial factors of contemporary political rule. States, especially those within Europe, are increasingly integrated around human rights values that circumscribe their actions. These norms provide a resource for national citizens to make claims against states for interests that have been downgraded. This article analyses how this process of the Europeanization of human rights, coupled with crucial domestic factors, has tempered the shift toward a repressive model of criminal justice by introducing greater regulation and oversight of policing by the Irish state. This may presage a splintering of state sovereignty as some of its organizations are inspired by adherence to transnational values, an allegiance that may impede any move towards authoritarian state rule.

Key Words: Europeanization • Globalization • Human Rights • Ireland • Police Accountability.

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European Journal of Criminology, Vol. 4, No. 4, 437-460 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1477370807080721


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Vaughan, B. Articles by Kilcommins, S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?