German Joys

I'll Be Holding a Workshop in Berlin Tomorrow

Hey everbody, I will be holding a 'workshop' at the Humboldt University tomorrow at 16:00. The title is Who Writes Criminal Laws? A Comparative Look at the Social and Structural Determinants of Criminal-Justice Policy in Europe, the UK, and the United States. As you might be able to guess by the title, this will be rather academical in nature. Nevertheless, if you're interested, feel free to drop by!

My Thoughts on the Breivik Judgment

The LSE's European Politics and Policy blog has published a short piece I wrote on the Breivik judgment. Here's the conclusion, summarizing the way in which opposition to capital punishment gradually became the majority position in Western Europe:

This pattern can be summarized as follows. After a period of active controversy, interest in the subject of capital punishment fades. Since inertia (always a powerful force in politics) now favours abolition, there seems little point re-opening the emotional debate over executions. No drastic increase in violent crime will occur after abolition. If there is a crime increase, the experts will reassure the public that abolition had nothing to do with it, as the death penalty has no proven deterrent effect. Eventually, the press loses interest in the subject of capital punishment’s potential return, and politicians realize it has lost its power as a vote-getter. Open support for capital punishment lives on only among right-wing fringe parties (such as the British National Party, or Germany’s far-right National Democratic Party). The adoption of capital punishment by fringe parties therefore creates a sort of self-reinforcing ring-fence around the issue: even mainstream politicians who might personally favor the death penalty choose not to mention it, for fear of being associated with unpopular fringe groups.

At the end of this process (which can take decades) we are left with perhaps 60-70 per cent of a country’s population opposing capital punishment in principle. Notably, this opposition may be relatively weak — as I found while researching my book on this subject, leading questions can elicit support for capital punishment even among people who consider themselves abolitionist. This is where treaties come into play. Even if shocking crimes such as Breivik’s might prompt some citizens to re-think their death penalty views, international commitments authoritatively banning executions stand in the way. It’s difficult to build support for a policy that has no chance of being adopted.

 

Interview in the Tages-Anzeiger

I gave an interview (in German) to the Swiss newspaper the Tages-Anzeiger on the Breivik case which came out today. Link here. Since the process of condensing and editing inevitably leaves out some caveats, I'll try to post a few more observations in the coming days.

And yes, I know I need a better stock photo of myself for this kind of thing...

Heidelberg Debate on 'Morality and Criminal Justice'

Here, as promised are the videos of the talk I gave with Robert Blecker in Heidelberg on 4 May 2012. The introduction is by Franz-Julius Morche, one of the organizers of the conference, and the moderation is by Dr. Markus Englerth. Many thanks to both of them, to Robert Blecker, and to the audience, who asked some good questions.

Heidelberg Symposium Tickets Available

As I announced a few weeks ago, I'll be in Heidelberg in two weeks to debate Robert Blecker, an American law professor who endorses a retributivist approach to punishment and favors capital punishment. The debate will take place during the 24th Heidelberger Symposium (g), which takes place from the 3rd to the 5th of May in Heidelberg. The theme is Mut zur Moral, roughly 'The courage to be moral.'

I've been informed by the organizers that tickets are necessary. Fortunately, you can buy them online here (the website's in German). Buy your tickets, come watch the festivities, and get drunk with me afterwards!

I Debate Robert Blecker on May 4th in Heidelberg

Just to let you know in eigener Sache, I've been invited by the Heidelberger Clubs für Wirtschaft und Kultur e.V. (Heidelberg Business and Culture Club) to participate in their 24th annual Symposium (g), which will be held in Heidelberg from 3-5 May. The program is here (g).

I'll be taking part in a debate/discussion with Robert Blecker, a professor at New York Law School, on the subject of morality and the criminal law. Blecker is probably the most prominent American academic proponent of capital punishment and the retributive ethic in criminal justice, and also the main character in the film Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead (see above) which chronicles Blecker's relationship with a death-row inmate Daryl Holton. He is also the author, most recently, of Let the Great Axe Fall, a Kindle Single which you can download here.

I find debating capital punishment sort of tedious, but the discussion promises to be more wide-ranging than that. We'll be debating in English, since Blecker, as far as I know, doesn't speak German.* Should be fun!

Another Territory Added to My Expanding Media Empire

WDR5, the public radio channel with which I have a 94% love/6% hate relationship, recently interviewed me for a feature about how foreigners see Germany. You can download the whole program here.

I haven't listened to it yet, because it's too cringeifying. But I thought it would be queer not to mention it on this blog, since that's the main reason they interviewed me.

If I sound a little drunk during the interview, that's because I was! Mmmmm, Hefe-Weizenbier...

A Summary of My Book

For those few remaining holdouts who haven't read my book yet, William W. Berry III of the University of Mississippi School of Law has recently uploaded a paper to SSRN that includes (among other things) a good summary of my main arguments. I haven't read the whole thing yet, so I don't yet know Berry's take, but I thought I'd put a link up all the same.

Next Monday: Spotlight on Iraq

I'm delighted to announce that next Monday, December 6th, a friend of mine and an expert on the Iraqi Constitution, Zaid Al-Ali, will be visiting the Heinrich Heine University and giving a talk on the constitution-drafting process. The talk will take place at 18:00 in Lecture Hall 5A of Building 25.11 on the University campus. The lecture will be in English; admission is free.

Working with the UN Development Program, Zaid assisted in the drafting and implementation of the Iraqi Constitution. Zaid himself is a citizen of Iraq and has law degrees from Harvard Law School and the Sorbonne. He will talk about the issue of constitutional legitimacy in the drafting process. Zaid visits Iraq regularly, and routinely posts dispatches on Open Democracy, which you can read here. The speech promises to be quite interesting, and Zaid will, of course, take audience questions afterwards.

You can find more information in this pdf. General instructions for reaching the University are here (g). Building 25.11 is located here, just a 5-minute walk from the Uni-Ost streetcar stop.

German Joys - Immer ein Bisschen Voraus

Always a little ahead of the curve, that is. German Joys leads, other news sources follow. Item:

• Way back in 2007, GJ noted the absurdity of Germans being forced to pay 20 times as much for aspirin as the residents of most other advanced industrialized nations. What do I see on the front page of my Zeit newspaper this morning? The headline: "Why do Germans pay so much for Aspirin?" (g). Welcome aboard, Herr di Lorenzo (finally).... As for me, I always bring back from the States a 500-tablet bottle of aspirin, which costs the equivalent of 2 Euro.
• Last year, GJ was bemused over the fact that there is actually a tree called the "Caucasian Wingnut." Many months later, Talking Points Memo has discovered this fun fact. You're welcome, Mr. Marshall....