Understanding the Contemporary Culture of Criminal Justice Conferences in India: An Interpretive Approach

A substantial body of research has examined conference participation across different academic disciplines and regions of the world. Within the field of criminal justice, much of the existing research has focused on participant feedback surveys and personal experiences, predominantly within Western countries. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no study has specifically examined the contemporary conference culture in India, including the motivations for conference participation and the issues and challenges faced by Indian criminal justice academics. In line with this, an attempt was made to understand the perceptions of Indian criminal justice academics regarding participation in criminal justice conferences. In-depth online interviews were conducted with fourteen criminal justice academics in India. The analysis resulted in the identification of six major themes: Knowledge Dissemination, Networking and Policy Relevance; Institutional Visibility and Compliance; Recognition and Prestige; Conference Tourism and Socialization; Commercialization and Visibility; and Conference Politics. Implications are discussed in the article.