Law, Violence and Penal Reform

State Responses to Crime and Disorder in Colonial Malawi, c.1900–1959

Bibliographic Data

ID7861713
AuthorsHynd (0000-0002-2212-7294, University of Exeter, corresponding author), Stacey Hynd
Year2011
Volume37
Issue3
Pages431-447
Publication date2011-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057070.2011.602884
OpenAlexW2102332835
LanguageEN
Citations received10

The historical analysis of state punishment in colonial Africa has been dominated by studies of individual arenas and practices of judicial authority: prisons, detention, flogging, and the death penalty. This article on Malawi adopts a more holistic approach, focusing on ‘penality’ – the broader nexus of criminal justice infrastructure and discourses – rather than ‘punishment’, to explore the shifts and tensions within colonial judicial and penal policy. Drawing on sociological theories of punishment from Durkheim to Foucault, the development and functioning of such penality is analysed, beginning with a study of state concerns about African criminality, colonial courts and justice, before moving to an analysis of the forms and functions of state punishments. The article then explores state responses to large-scale disorder and rebellion in 1915 and 1959, and highlights how the experiences of colonial justice shaped Malawi's struggle towards independence

Colonialism · Criminal justice · Criminology · Economic Justice · Political science · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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