Capsules

Federalism

A system in which authority is divided between a central government and regional governments, each with powers that the other cannot unilaterally…

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media studies

Censorship

The suppression of speech, writing or images by an authority. It is as old as writing, its methods have changed with each communication technology,…

Organised Crime

Criminal activity carried out by durable groups organised for profit. It differs from individual offending in being structured, continuing beyond its…

Contracts

Legally enforceable agreements. They allow people to bind their future selves, which makes cooperation possible between parties who have no other…

Policing

The organised enforcement of law and maintenance of public order by a body authorised by the state. Professional police forces are a nineteenth…

Human Rights

Rights held by every person by virtue of being human, independently of citizenship, law or the consent of any government. The idea is old, its…

Constitutions

The fundamental rules establishing how a state is governed: which institutions exist, what powers they hold, how those powers are limited, and how…

Prisons

Institutions in which people are confined as punishment. Imprisonment as the standard penalty for serious crime is a comparatively recent invention,…

urban planning

Zoning

The regulation of what may be built where, by dividing a city into districts with different permitted uses and building limits. It is the primary…

Fingerprint Identification

The use of friction ridge patterns on the fingers to identify individuals. It was the first widely adopted scientific identification method, it…

Trial by Jury

A procedure in which questions of fact in a legal case are decided by a panel of ordinary people rather than by a professional judge. It is used in a…