This work is based on the translation from French of the book published in January 2019 (La politique criminelle sur le fil, Paris: Institut de Recherche Juridique de la Sorbonne–IRJS, collection Les voies du droit, p. 458). The present book is a revised edition, and the bibliography has been enriched with new references. Additionally, an afterword has been added to highlight certain issues related to the pandemic.

Reading this book is enlightening beyond the realm of criminal law and even beyond the borders of states. By studying global challenges, we transition from terrorism to economic crises, from international human rights law to international trade law, and also from national law to European or even global law.

In all these fields, the author observes not only the behaviors of states but also the rise of transnational corporations (TNCs). She explores the main trends of political criminality, with a particular emphasis on the concept of public security and the relationship between human security and market security, considering the role of new technologies in shaping policies related to criminality.

The ambition of her work is not limited to depiction alone but is accompanied by critical thinking that leads the reader to confront, in the “final chapter,” the key question of whether these deviations from a democratic and liberal political criminality towards an authoritarian – even totalitarian – model, and sometimes towards a society of permanent surveillance, are now irreversible or if there are effective therapeutic solutions.