Rethinking Cultural Criminology and Its Application to Crime Prevention in Multiethnic Societies

Mohammad Dawood Nazem; Mahmoud  Habibitabar; Mahdi Esmaeli

Authors

Mohammad Dawood Nazem Ph.D. Student, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6142-6465
Mahmoud Habibitabar Department of Law, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8742-3994
Mahdi Esmaeli Department of Law, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0575-1404

Keywords:

cultural criminology, crime prevention, multiethnic societies, social safety, multicultural sensitivity, Hanafi jurisprudence, Imami Shiʿi jurisprudence.

Abstract

Cultural criminology, as a contemporary approach to the study of crime, emphasizes the role of meanings, symbols, and cultural contexts in the formation of criminal behavior and societal responses to it. By critiquing purely technical and situational approaches, it reconceptualizes preventive strategies within the framework of social safety. This study aimed to reconsider the theoretical foundations of cultural criminology and examine its application to crime prevention in the multiethnic societies of Iran and Afghanistan. The research employed a comparative descriptive-analytical method. The findings indicate that, despite the cultural and religious commonalities between the two countries, significant structural differences exist in their legal systems and criminal policies. In Iran, the legal system, which is grounded in Imami Shiʿi jurisprudence and adopts an affirmative approach toward Sharia, has contributed to centralization and cultural homogenization. In Afghanistan, by contrast, the Constitution, through its restrictive approach toward Sharia and its reference to Hanafi jurisprudence, has provided greater scope for flexibility and accommodation of tribal customs. In the field of crime prevention, both countries face serious challenges: Iran confronts tensions between centralized criminal policy and cultural pluralism, whereas Afghanistan faces fragmentation in law enforcement arising from normative pluralism. Moreover, the substantial presence of the Afghan migrant population in Iran further reinforces the need to reconsider existing preventive approaches. Ultimately, the effective application of cultural criminology in both countries requires a transition from predominantly punitive approaches toward an approach based on social safety, multicultural sensitivity, the strengthening of informal social control, and the utilization of the capacities of religious institutions and customary dispute-resolution systems.

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