Book review: Conor O’Reilly (ed.), Colonial Policing and the Transnational Legacy: The Global Dynamics of Policing across the Lusophone Community

Abstract

First paragraph: Traces of the past are found in the present, in the continued (re)construction of identities and in practices built around them. Explorations of these legacies offered in O’Reilly’s edited collection provide valuable insights into not only colonial policing and its development over time in Lusophone communities, but of its relevance to policing today. O’Reilly not only draws together social, political and historical examples from across the Lusophone community, but throughout the book’s three sections, each contribution charts the development of policing culture, transnational policy exchanges and the construction of subjects through a continued colonial lens. Doing so provides us with a rare engagement with colonialism, identity and policing across the Portuguese Empire.