Markus D. Dubber

Markus Dirk Dubber is a German-born legal scholar and criminologist whose work critically examines the historical and conceptual foundations of criminal law, policing, and governance. Currently a professor of law at the University of Toronto and former Director of the Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, Dubber has made influential contributions to the study of “police power” and “law power” as distinct yet interconnected forms of state authority. His scholarship engages with comparative legal history, critical theory, and the philosophical underpinnings of penal systems, exploring how concepts of patriarchy, sovereignty, and security shape the law’s reach over individuals and communities.

Dubber’s concept of “police power” reorients the study of law and policing by tracing it to patriarchal governance models rooted in early modern statecraft, contrasting it with “law power,” which centers on adjudication and rights. His work has been particularly influential in bringing Foucaultian governmentality studies into dialogue with Anglo-American legal theory. Dubber interrogates the cultural, historical, and structural foundations of state control, offering critical perspectives on contemporary policing, mass surveillance, and the global spread of punitive governance.