Samenvatting

Cultural criminology has been criticized for not taking enough notice of classical anthropological debates on the concept of ‘culture’. This article responds to that. It analyses anthropological conceptualization from an initial essentialist to a social constructivist approach of ‘culture’. The constructivist approach can prevent cultural criminologists from focusing too much on ‘exotic subcultures’ and neglecting broader socio-cultural developments. The article treats the structure-agency debate and its relevance to cultural criminology. In conclusion, cultural criminology from a dynamic constructivist concept of culture is best equipped for studying crime and reactions to crime in the current era of globalization.