What’s violence got to do with it? Inequality, punishment, and state failure in US politics

Abstract

This paper offers a reframing of the dynamics of crime and punishment in the United States by exploring lethal violence and situating both violence and punishment within the larger capacity of the US political system to shield citizens from a range of social risks. I argue that security from violence is an important state obligation and then illustrate the exceptionally high rates of lethal violence in the US, relative to other rich democracies, and their clustering with a range of other racialized social risks, including poverty and imprisonment. I then provide a framework for understanding the exceptional status of the US by exploring the fragmented, racialized and legalistic institutions of American politics and the role they play in producing a range of socio-economic insecurities. I argue that both violence and punishment in the US can be seen as limited forms of state failure, particularly with respect to African-Americans.