The Insecurity State offers a theoretical explanation of the expansive and authoritarian trends in modern Anglo-American criminal law and policy. Taking the iconic ASBO as an archetype, it examines the political theory behind the growth of criminal law and argues that modern security law risks weakening political authority itself.

Peter Ramsay studied Economics at Nottingham University. He then worked for more than a decade in public relations and publishing before studying law at the University of Westminster and University College London. He was appointed Lecturer in Law at the London School of Economics in 2006 and completed his PhD at King's College London in 2008.

• Introduction


• 1: Failure to Reassure as Threat


• 2: Failure to Reassure as Public Wrong


• 3: Freedom from Fear


• 4: The Reassurance Gap


• 5: The Ideology of Vulnerable Autonomy


• 6: The Right to Security and the ECHR


• 7: The Right to Security Beyond the ASBO


• 8: Security Interests in the Criminal Law


• 9: The Right to Security in Criminal Law Theory


• 10: The Insecurity State


• Afterword: On the Future of Authority