Book contents
- Regime Type and Beyond
- Regime Type and Beyond
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Part I Framework
- 1 Mapping the Authoritarian and Democratic Divide
- 2 Discipline or Democracy
- Part II Authoritarian Policing: Past and Present
- Part III Democratic Transition and Authoritarian Resilience
- Part IV The Singapore and Hong Kong Exceptions
- Part V Conclusions
- Index
2 - Discipline or Democracy
The Endogeneity of Police Accountability
from Part I - Framework
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2023
- Regime Type and Beyond
- Regime Type and Beyond
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Part I Framework
- 1 Mapping the Authoritarian and Democratic Divide
- 2 Discipline or Democracy
- Part II Authoritarian Policing: Past and Present
- Part III Democratic Transition and Authoritarian Resilience
- Part IV The Singapore and Hong Kong Exceptions
- Part V Conclusions
- Index
Summary
Traditionally there has been a reflexive assumption that democratic regimes have more accountable and less violent policing practices than those in authoritarian regimes. Yet modern authoritarian regimes have pursued policies of police professionalization while democratic regimes continue to often suffer from comparatively higher levels of police violence. This chapter argues that an examination of policing in Japan, the Philippines, and China supports the growing irrelevance of regime-type for understanding police violence and accountability. While modern policing has been subject to increased empirical study, a technocratic emphasis on policing practices has been unable to overcome both the core sociogenic drivers of crime and the intransigent moralism through which publics evaluate police action. Consequently, historical and cultural factors are the primary drivers of how any given society perceives the legitimate objects of police violence, and thus police violence strongly resists reduction through technical revisions or the reform of formal police institutions.
Keywords
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- Regime Type and BeyondThe Transformation of Police in Asia, pp. 26 - 50Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023