Racial criminalization of migrants in the 21st century / edited by Salvatore Palidda.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction / Salvatore Palidda -- A review of the principal European countries / Salvatore Palidda -- Do conflicts between cultures really exist? A historical and methodological reflection / Alessandro Dal Lago -- Using gender to shape difference: the doctrine of cultural offence and cultural defence / Fabienne Brion -- Media discourse on immigration: control practices and the language we live / Marcello Maneri -- The detention machine / Federico Rahola -- The metamorphosis of asylum in Europe: from the origins of 'fake refugees' to their internment / Jérôme Valluy -- The (re)criminalization of Roma communities in a neoliberal Europe / Nando Sigona and Nidhi Trehan -- The U.S. penal experiment / Alessandro De Giorgi -- Delinquency, victimization, criminalization and penal treatment of foreigners in France / Laurent Mucchielli and Sophie Nevanen -- Criminalization and victimization of immigrants in Germany / Hans-Joerg Albrecht -- The construction of migrants as a risk category in the Spanish penal system / José Ángel Brandariz García and Cristina Fernández Bessa -- The Italian crime deal / Salvatore Palidda -- The road to racial profiling was paved by immigrants / Bernard E. Harcourt -- England: at the forefront in the punishment of minors / Yasha Maccanico.

Over the last two decades in the West, there has been a significant increase in the arrest, imprisonment and detention of migrants. The racial criminalization and victimization of migrants and Roma people has led judicial authorities, local governments, the police, mass media and the general population to perceive migrants and 'gypsies' as responsible for a wide range of offences. Taking into consideration the political and cultural conditions that affect and interconnect societies of emigration and immigration, the contributors examine and compare a range of cases in Europe and the United States. The contributions demonstrate how the persecution of the 'current enemy' is the 'total political fact' of the 21st century in that it ensures consensus and business, or what might be termed the 'crime deal' of today. This provocative book has international appeal and will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policymakers with an interest in migration and social and ethnic control.