Abstract

DAEMS, Tom. La sociología de la negación de Stanley Cohen y el estudio del castigo. Delito soc. [online]. 2020, vol.29, n.50, pp.46-62. ISSN 0328-0101.  http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.14409/dys.2020.50.e0015.

In this article we introduce and discuss the later work of Stanley Cohen, that is, his writings on denial. We focus in particular on the interaction between social commitment and scientific distance, the so-called «double loyalty» that characterises his approach to questions of crime and deviance, punishment and control. We will argue that the sociology of denial of Stanley Cohen not only helps us understand the ways in which we talk about political conflicts and serious violations of human rights but also about more down-to-earth penological questions. We illustrate this by focusing on two case-studies: the monitoring of prison conditions by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (hereinafter CPT) and the debate on the regulation and deregulation of strip-searches in Belgian prisons.

Keywords : Stanley Cohen; denial; prisions; Human Rights.