Abstract
This article develops a theoretical reflection on the phenomenon of the judicialization of life, specifically as it affects young offenders, according to a Foucauldian and Derridean perspective. The main objective is to give visibility to truth regimes inscribing young offenders, which emerge from the constitutional amendments to lower the age of criminal responsibility, as well as their effects on the processes of subjectivation. Foucault’s concept of problematization is used as a methodological tool, which allows us to conceptualize the judicialization of life not as a solution, according to dominant views on the topic, but as a product of social conflict. We contend that, from a legal viewpoint, legislators conceive and strive for a self-conscious, autonomous, and mentally-fit individual who is completely accountable for his/her own behavior. The judicialization of life addresses social demands, setting conflicts according to a criminal perspective, thereby producing only two possible ways of being: either that of an offender or of a victim. This process polarizes public opinion, as well as the way these young citizens live and express themselves in the contemporary world.
Adolescent; Legislation; Judicialization; Processes of Subjectivation; Politics