Contributor(s): Professor Tracey L Meares | In the wake of public criticism of contemporary criminal justice processes in general and of policing specifically, especially in the United States, some critics of these institutions and processes have called for abolition.

In this lecture, Professor Meares will discuss the historical context of the abolition of slavery in the United States, locating it in the broader context of Reconstruction, and will offer an idea of policing as a public good that is central to a conception of citizenship.

Tracey L Meares (@mearest) is the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor and a Founding Director of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School.

Peter Trubowitz (@ptrubowitz) is Professor of International Relations and Director of the US Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Associate Fellow at Chatham House.

The LSE's United States Centre (@LSE_US) is a hub for global expertise, analysis and commentary on America. Its mission is to promote policy-relevant and internationally-oriented scholarship to meet the growing demand for fresh analysis and critical debate on the United States.

This event forms part of LSE’s Shaping the Post-COVID World initiative, a series of debates about the direction the world could and should be taking after the crisis.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSECOVID19