By Professor John Scott – School of Justice, QUT
First there was Brisbane’s Hosting of the G20 Summit in 2015, which bought an international cast of leaders to the River City, albeit, most from the Global North, who were not here to mix it with the locals. The next big event to mark in the diary also promises to bring an international cast of leaders to Brisbane, this time in criminology, this time in their hundreds, and, this time, from all over the world.
Last week the Asian Criminological Society (ACS) announced QUT had won the right to host its 2017 conference, which will be based on the theme of ‘Crime and Justice in Asia and the Global South’ and jointly hosted by the Crime and Justice Research Centre.
The Conference will draw on the Centre’s networks in the Global South, especially South America and the vast network of nations and regions represented through the ACS. The conference will provide a valuable opportunity to consider both crime problems and unique initiatives to address crimes which have emerged outside the global north. The conference promises to transnationalise criminological research agendas and make them more inclusive by drawing attention to the distinct challenges posed by crime and security in Asia and the Global South.
The Asian Criminological Society, now in its seventh year, held its most recent conference in Hong Kong, which was well-attended by Australians, some of whom have been involved with the ACS since its inception. And while Australia may be firmly entrenched in the Global South, sharing in the colonial history of many countries in the region, the relevance of ‘Asian’ criminology may not be immediately apparent. Indeed, Australia has historically looked to Britain and North America for criminological inspiration, but what struck me, having attended the recent conference, was how much we shared, geographically, economically, historically and socially with the countries represented at the ACS. So to paraphrase a great Australian Prime Minister, it might be said that without inhibitions of any kind, it is time Australian criminology looked to Asia and the Global South, free of any pangs as to our traditional ties and kinship with the Global North.
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