Introduction. Youth violence: De-escalation strategies and socio-legal responses

Despite media suggestions that youth violence is the result of an epidemic of young thugs “out of control”, this paper argues that youth violence is emblematic of complex political, economic and socio-cultural conditions. This introductory paper discusses some of the key themes and articles from our special issue on Youth Violence: De-Escalation Strategies and Socio-Legal Responses, which is the result of a workshop held at the Onati International Institute for the Sociology of Law in July 2019. It seeks to reflect the rich tapestry of factors, contexts and processes that can place young people at risk of offending, or, perhaps even more importantly, at risk of criminalisation, as presented in the special issue collection. We reflect on the range of perspectives presented across the special issue on youth violence and the de-escalation of such violence, which seek to advance knowledge, and identify strategies for regulating and preventing this behaviour. Pese a insinuaciones de los medios de que la violencia juvenil es consecuencia de una epidemia de jovenes matones “fuera de control”, este articulo argumenta que la violencia juvenil es emblematica de circunstancias politicas, economicas y socioculturales complejas. Esta introduccion expone algunos de los temas claves de los articulos de nuestro numero especial titulado Youth Violence: De-Escalation Strategies and Socio-Legal Responses, que es fruto de un seminario celebrado en el Instituto Internacional de Sociologia Juridica de Onati, en julio de 2019. Se busca reflejar el rico mosaico de factores, contextos y procesos que pueden poner a los jovenes en riesgo de delinquir o, quiza mas importante, en riesgo de criminalidad, como se presenta en el numero especial. Aqui reflejamos la variedad de perspectivas que se presentan en el numero especial sobre violencia juvenil y la desescalada de dicha violencia, lo cual pretende adelantar el conocimiento e identificar estrategias para regular y prevenir ese comportamiento. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1211