Handle with care - On the use of structuration theory within criminology

This paper critically examines how Anthony Giddens's theory of structuratio n has been utilized within criminological studies, It suggests that rather than resolving many traditional dilemmas within sociology, structuration th eory effaces them by compacting together structure and agency. Adverting to the critical literature on structuration theory, it points out the consequ ences of binding structure and agency together so tightly, The distinctive properties of each are collapsed into social practices which entail that st ructure is defined virtually-in terms of rules and resources-so that it doe s not have an objective existence. This confers a spurious malleability upo n social structures, yet structuration theory is unable to specify when tra nsformation will occur, and also fails to explain why there should be chang e since agents are overwhelmingly concerned with the preservation of securi ty through the adherence to routines. These and other deleterious consequen ces are drawn out through an examination of three studies that incorporate structuration theory and they are traced to an unwillingness to conceive of social reality as being multidimensional, with each level possessing its o wn distinctive properties.