Criminology in Lithuania: restoring paradigms

ENThree phases in the development of criminological knowledge in Lithuania are considered in this chapter. The first is an initial stage of criminological discussions during the first period of the independence of Lithuania (1918–1940). The second is the formation of criminological discipline in the last decades of the period of Soviet occupation (1940–1990), and the third is the development of criminology after the restoration of the independence of Lithuania (1990–the present). The historical development of Lithuanian criminology is reflected in the context of three main paradigms of criminological knowledge: the classical, positivistic, and critical (constructionist). The question of the collision of criminological paradigms is separately raised, presenting the academic discussions about the object matter of criminological research. The landmark of Lithuanian criminology and its prospects for the future are shortly summarized and discussed in the conclusion.