Samenvatting

This introductory article describes who ‘the other’ is and what the place of ‘the other’ is in social scientific studies. The concept of ‘the other’ became the central object of study with the emergence of anthropology. In sociology and criminology the focus of study has been on ‘the other’ in ‘our’ midst. Although there are ‘positive others’, such as significant others, the other is more often perceived as unwanted, dangerous, threatening and even as an enemy. The other is socially constructed, usually on the basis of cultural and socio-economic differ­ences that set ‘the other’ apart from the powerful. Critical and cultural criminologists have therefore since the 1960s focused on ‘the other’ and how they are created in processes of marginalization and how they are subjected to criminalization.