Abolitionismus: Abschaffung oder Reform? - Gespräch mit Tommie Shelby, Vanessa Thompson und Simin Jawabreh

A conversation with Tommie Shelby, Vanessa Thompson and Simin Jawabreh, organized and moderated by Charlie Ebert and Abibi Stewart. The discussion will be held in English with simultaneous translation into German and is organized in cooperation with Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung.

Topic: Asylum and migration policies are becoming increasingly overtly racist and fascist. The criminalization of migration and political protest is being used to expand police powers and undermine fundamental rights. While social security is being dismantled, there is enough money for the police and militarization. The increasing "organized neglect" (Ruth Wilson Gilmore) goes hand in hand with the expansion of repressive institutions and an authoritarian state. Anti-racist, anti-fascist, feminist and queer movements are opposing these developments - especially groups that organize against police violence, prisons and criminalization. In these struggles against state-sanctioned violence and for better living conditions, the spectrum of demands ranges from reform to the abolition of the criticized institutions. Reformist positions demand better prison conditions, a fairer criminal law or an end to police violence, for example. However, they do not advocate the complete abolition of prisons, police and borders, as these also fulfill necessary functions. On the other hand, there are more radical positions that call for their abolition. These tie in with traditions of abolitionism, which see prisons, police and borders as central mechanisms of oppression and exploitation in capitalist societies and in which reforms are therefore considered hopeless. Abolition does not just mean abolition, but a process of transformation that aims to make repressive institutions superfluous by changing social, political and economic conditions. Reformist and abolitionist positions therefore differ not only in individual political demands and strategies, but also in their social-theoretical assumptions about the historical and functional roles of the criticized institutions. In the barricade talk, we will discuss these assumptions, understandings and strategies together with Simin Jawabreh, Tommie Shelby and Vanessa Thompson. We will discuss the philosophical and political-practical perspectives of our discussion partners: What exactly is the problem with carceral institutions such as prisons, police and borders? Do they need to be abolished or reformed - and why? Is it even possible to implement radical prison reforms under capitalism? What exactly do reformers and abolitionists mean by their respective demands - and what ideas of social transformation are behind them? Guests Simin Jawabreh is an activist and political scientist and writes regularly for Jacobin, Analyse & Kritik and Neues Deutschland. In her work she deals with Marxism, abolitionism and anti-colonial struggles. She brings her activism to the streets as a communist and through her involvement in anti-racist alliances, as well as to the wider public through her Instagram account @siminjawa. Tommie Shelby is Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies and Philosophy at Harvard University. He is the author of the monograph The Idea of Prison Abolition (Princeton University Press: 2022). In 2025, he is Benjamin Chair at the Centre for Social Critique and in this capacity will give this year's Benjamin Lectures. Vanessa Thompson is a social scientist and Assistant Professor of Black Studies and Social Justice at Queen's University. Informed by anti-colonial traditions of thought and Black feminism, she researches and publishes on the relationships between state violence, racism and capitalism. She also deals with social struggles against these forces and for alternatives. She is the editor of the anthology "Abolitionismus. A Reader" (Suhrkamp: 2022). Link to the website: https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/event/abolition-oder-reform/