Decriminalisation is often framed as a ‘third way solution’ between legality and criminalisation, but the complex regulatory field that surrounds it is rarely examined.

This edited collection marks a departure from current approaches by focusing on the consequences of decriminalisation, rather than abstractly considering what law should be. The collection offers selected case studies where decriminalisation has occurred - drug use, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia - subjecting each to a socio-legal analysis. It pays critical attention to the restructuring of subjects, social space and norms that takes place when modes of governance are transformed.

It offers a critical framework for academics, policy makers and the members of the public seeking to move beyond simplistic legal/illegal distinctions to better understand the realities that emerge when explicit criminal sanctions are removed.