Dear reader

AuthorAnna Markina, Jüri Saar
Pages1-1
1
JURIDICA INTERNATIONAL 25/2017
Dear reader,
The 29th Baltic Criminological Seminar, organised by the Faculty of Law of the
University of Tartu, took place in Tallinn on 16–18 June 2016. This year, the semi-
nar celebrates its 30th year, continuing a tradition begun in 1987 by what was then
the Laboratory of the Sociology of Deviant Behaviour at the University of Tartu.
The series of annual criminological seminars was initiated by our close colleague
Dr Eduard Raska (1944–2008), who was director of the laboratory at that time.
Originally, the event brought together social scientists from the Baltic States,
Saint Petersburg, and Moscow in ef‌f orts to create an alternative, even competing,
paradigm to that of Soviet orthodox criminology. Later, the seminar expanded in
scope, and it now draws international participants from not only the Baltic region
but all over the world. The Baltic Criminological Seminar has become a scientif‌i c
enterprise that is highly valued by specialists in the f‌i eld of crime research and con-
trol as an arena for presentation of novel ideas and approaches.
The title of this year’s seminar and collection of papers, ‘Crime, Culture, and
Social Control’, was not chosen arbitrarily. Amidst globalisation and cross-cultural
exposure, new forms of crime are emerging that require new means of control.
Further more, criminology should be able to identify and monitor the social changes,
in order to f‌i nd alternatives to today’s dominant, West-centred approaches. Thirdly,
in addition to following this ‘cultural turn’, responsible criminology must deal with
new social dangers and harms that are emerging from combinations of criminal-
ity, psychopathology, and economic and military factors. Thereby, the ways of the
past – positivistic precise categorisation of forms of deviance and their study – can
be replaced with a holistic approach that brings synthesis.
The articles in this volume of Juridica International address developments and
tendencies in crime and crime control in various countries. Some articles of‌f er the-
oretical investigation of the above-mentioned problems; others present results of
empirical research. Most of the journal articles elaborate upon material presented
at the seminar, in addition to which there are some authors who could not attend
the seminar but were able to contribute to this issue. We would like to thank all the
authors and those reviewing and language-editing the articles for their work, which
has resulted in a publication of high scientif‌i c quality. Finally, we are very thankful
to the university’s Faculty of Social Science and School of Law for their f‌i nancial
support for organising the seminar and publishing this volume.
The seminar and this issue of Juridica International are further proof, should
any be needed, that the University of Tartu is an excellent place for holding interna-
tional scientif‌i c events and meetings for the exchange of ideas and experience in the
f‌i eld of crime control. The tradition of the Baltic Criminological Seminar has stood
the test of time, weathering the many changes that the region has experienced over
the last 30 years. It is clear that analysis of crime that knows no borders requires
ongoing in-depth international scientif‌i c co-operation, and with the current issue we
aspire to respond to this need.
Anna Markina Jüri Saar
https://doi.org/10.12697/JI.2017.25.00

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT