ABSTRACT
A significant element of Stan Cohen’s political and intellectual energy in the past decade has been focused on the relationships between sociology, politics and human rights (1993, 1995, 1996a, 1996b, 2001, 2005). As criminologists who live and work in a former conflict zone wherein precisely that intersection has informed much of our own work, we have been hugely influenced by Cohen’s writings and example of political and scholarly commitment. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to visualise and theorise with precision about what is actually occurring in a range of different types of conflict. Whether he is unpicking the violent societal reaction to mods and rockers, or internecine disputes within the disciplines of criminology and sociology through to the human and social destruction of political violence, Cohen’s particular knack has been to see clearly
through the smoke of conflict and to speak authoritatively above the din. A key feature of conflict is confusion. Cohen’s unique gift is intellectual, political and moral clarity in the midst of that confusion.
