Abstract
The interface between police and citizens in Taiwan is no crisp confrontation between state and society. It is a thickly layered space of mediation, populated by diverse agents, authorities, institutions, and networks. This article uses an ethnographic study of this space to explore its historical and cultural organization. I assemble a series of descriptions of situations in which people sought to mobilize police powers on their behalf, sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully. I use this evidentiary basis to reflect on the cultural skills involved in making an effective call to police in democratic Taiwan. These skills, I argue, are best understood as a reflection of the meaningful foundations in which the democratic qualities of state powers have taken root in the context of Taiwan’s historical experience with modern governance.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 462-481 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Theoretical Criminology |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2016 |
Keywords
- Policing
- Taiwan
- anthropology of police
- democracy
- mediation
- regime change
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Sociology and Political Science
- Law