ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter I reflected on the contribution made by sociology and criminology to our understanding of hate crime. The various theories explored there provided some useful insights into why hate crimes might occur, but failed to provide any holistic answers. But of course it is not just these two academic disciplines that have contributions to make to our understanding of hate crime. Considerable understanding can also be derived from other branches of the social sciences. Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, given the often secular nature of the social sciences, explanations of hate and hate crime offending have been proffered in a rather disparate and often isolated manner, leaving us with a somewhat disjointed framework of analysis. In this chapter, then, we shall briefly consider what some of the social sciences, and their associated elements, have to say about our area of study, and assess the extent to which they further our understanding of ‘hate’ and ‘hate crime’.
