The radical critique of the punitive imaginary

The Radical Critique of the Punitive Imaginary offers a powerful and poetic rethinking of criminology from the Global South. Written by Thiago Fabres de Carvalho (in memoriam) and translated from Introducao a Criminologia: A Critica Radical do Imaginario Punitivo, this book invites readers to confront the deep moral, political, and theological roots of punishment.

Fabres de Carvalho develops a critical hermeneutics of the criminal question, tracing the genealogy of punitive thought from medieval inquisitions to modern systems of control. Drawing on philosophy, literature, and social theory, he reveals how the "punitive imaginary" sustains the illusion of order while reproducing violence and inequality.

Far from a conventional textbook, this is a work of intellectual and ethical courage, blending theoretical precision with poetic sensibility. It challenges the reader to imagine a criminology of freedom and nonviolence-one that refuses the sacrificial logic at the heart of the modern penal system.

Published in English with the support of the University of Reading (ISPF), this volume is the second in a collection dedicated to internationalizing critical criminological thought from Brazil and the Global South.