EASA Anthropology of Confinement Network Workshop 2025
The Anthropology of Confinement Network recently held their bi-annual workshop on the Theme of Confinement Continuums: Punishment, Protection, Action. Between the 9th & 10th of June, scholars on confinement were invited to share and discuss working papers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
In this context, Veronika Reidinger and Paul Herbinger from VICESSE were afforded a fruitful and constructive discussion of their working paper on Un/doing dangerousness: Managing risk by processing ‘risky individuals’ .
Those interested can read the abstract for their working paper below and follow the VICESSE news-section for the announcement of the paper’s publication soon.
Abstract: Un/doing dangerousness. Managing risk by processing ‘risky individuals’
Risk based technologies are increasingly important in the context of crime prevention. Central to these technologies is the ‘preventive belief’ that (1) future risks can and must be anticipated and mitigated based on current indicators, and (2) preventive interventions framed as necessary forms of support and assistance can avert undesirable outcomes (Bröckling 2008). Risk technologies employed at the intersection of psychosocial support and criminal justice do not merely assess or evaluate individuals; they actively seek to influence and shape behaviour, transforming an ‘incalculable dangerousness’ into a ‘calculable risk’ (Rose 2002). Being assessed and labelled as ‘dangerous’ or ‘risky’ can subject individuals to increased surveillance, stricter regulations (e.g. confinement), and/or specific behavioural interventions (e.g. therapeutic or medical measures). This is particularly evident in the expanding intersection of ‘mental pathology’ (Cohen 2016) and criminal prosecution. Here, risk-based restrictions of liberty (e.g. confinement in forensic institutions) are framed and legitimated less as punishment and more as therapeutic interventions aimed at addressing and reducing ‘problematic behavior’ as well as a (rather abstract) risk-oriented notion of ‘dangerousness’. Thus, risk-based technologies at the intersection of mental health and criminal law reinforce a shift from traditional criminal prosecution (e.g., punitive measures) toward preventive and seemingly ‘softer’ security interventions, thereby extending and normalizing mechanisms of surveillance and control that do not always appear overtly ‘carceral’.
In this contribution, we aim to explore how ‘risky individuals’ are not only assessed but actively molded to fit institutional expectations and professional classifications based on perceived risks. Drawing on two current empirical research projects – one examining the intersections of psychiatric diagnoses and domestic violence, the other analyzing the social organization of preventive measures in forensic institutions – we outline the processes of subjectivation of individuals labeled as ‘risky’ , meaning the ways those individuals are induced to conform in their self-perceptions and behaviors to the expectations and requirements of the forensic/carceral institution. Furthermore, we discuss the broader societal implications of risk-based ‘toolism’ as a state-sanctioned solution that operates at the interface of psychiatric and criminal justice
knowledge formations. ____________________________________________________________________
Bröckling, Ulrich. 2008. „Vorbeugen ist besser. Zur Soziologie der Prävention“. Behemoth 1(1). 38-48 Cohen, Bruce M. Z. 2016. Psychiatric hegemony: a Marxist theory of mental illness. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rose, Nikolas. 2002. „At Risk of Madness“. S. 209–37 in Embracing Risk. The Changing Culture of Insurance and Responsibility, ed. by T. Baker und J. Simon. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Contributors:
Paul Herbinger (paul.herbinger@vicesse.eu) – Vicesse (Vienna Centre for Societal Security)
Veronika Reidinger (veronika.reidinger@fhstp.ac.at) – Vicesse (Vienna Centre for Societal Security) / UAS (University of Applied Science) / BSU (Bertha von Suttner Private University)