PREVIOUS ARTICLE ALL CONTENTS Next ARTICLE

The Political Roots of Racial Tracking in American Criminal Justice, Nina M. Moore

Reviewed by Kelly Welch

BUY

 

Initially, readers of Nina M. Moore’s book may be skeptical about the author’s bold contention that most prior theorizing—both liberal and conservative, at both the micro and macro levels—about racial disparities in the American criminal justice system has been unable to adequately explain these pervasive injustices. Moore argues, generally, that racially discriminatory treatment of blacks within criminal justice endures primarily because policymakers and the public have allowed it; they are complicit in its perpetuation. She then describes how the influences most commonly proffered to explain these racial disparities—discrimination by individual criminal justice practitioners, laws that target blacks, disparate involvement of blacks in crime, and cultural differences—can exist only within a structural framework that sustains them. The imperative asserted here is that we must consider the role of the entire body politic, including citizens, courts, policymakers, lobbyists, academics, and mass media, rather than identifying single contributors to the problem. Thus, Moore’s thesis is not, in fact, mutually exclusive of prior research, thereby making her arguments compelling for readers with wide-ranging views on race and crime (although she does find certain theories more credible than others).

Political Roots of Raci

To continue reading, see options above.

About PSQ's Editor

ROBERT Y. SHAPIRO

Full Access

Join the Academy of Political Science and automatically receive Political Science Quarterly.

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Academy Forum | The Transatlantic Relationship and the Russia-Ukraine War
January 9, 2025
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
WEBINAR

MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT VIEW ALL EVENTS

Editor’s spotlight

Virtual Issue

Introduction: Black Power and the Civil Rights Agendas of Charles V. Hamilton
Marylena Mantas and Robert Y. Shapiro

MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC

Search the Archives

Publishing since 1886, PSQ is the most widely read and accessible scholarly journal with distinguished contributors such as: Lisa Anderson, Robert A. Dahl, Samuel P. Huntington, Robert Jervis, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Theda Skocpol, Woodrow Wilson

view additional issues

Most read

Articles | Book reviews

Understanding the Bush Doctrine
Robert Jervis

The Study of Administration
Woodrow Wilson

Notes on Roosevelt's "Quarantine" Speech
Dorothy Borg

view all

New APS Book

Political Conflict in American Politics   POLITICAL CONFLICT IN AMERICAN POLITICS

About US

Academy of Political Science

The Academy of Political Science, promotes objective, scholarly analyses of political, social, and economic issues. Through its conferences and publications APS provides analysis and insight into both domestic and foreign policy issues.

Political Science Quarterly

With neither an ideological nor a partisan bias, PSQ looks at facts and analyzes data objectively to help readers understand what is really going on in national and world affairs.

Stay Connected

newsstand locator
About APS