Making the Modern Criminal Law and the paradox of civil order

In this short contribution, I intend to briefly discuss what I consider to be some of the most important elements of the core concept of the theoretical framework presented in the book: namely, Farmer’s discussion and elaboration of civil order. I start by introducing how this discussion fits into the general argument in the book, and outline some general characteristics of Farmer’s notion of civil order. I then examine in further detail how Farmer’s conceptualisation grounds a critique of the limitations of contemporary criminal law scholarship, and discuss how it can inform a critical examination of the ideological dimension of civil order more broadly. In the final part of the paper, before some concluding thoughts, I raise a few reflections about how Farmer’s theoretical framework and reflect on how it can be taken forward.