Social isolation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a dialogue between biopolitics and critical criminology

Abstract

This paper proposes a critical thought on social isolation policies, resulting from the emergency of international concern caused by the pandemic of COVID-19, as capable of implying a more intense social control to a specific social group. Based on the assumption that criminalization processes do not necessarily reach the most aggressive behaviors, because it is determined by a political (in the liberal and conservative sectors) and economical correlation, and using the dialogical methodology, which seeks to develop shared knowledge through interdisciplinary sources, the purpose of this research is to analyze the measure of social isolation based on discussions between biopolitics and critical criminology, to understand on to whom the protection of social isolation is addressed and a possible criminalization of violation.