This book presents both a new theoretical framework for the criminalisation of hate, referred to as "law as social justice liberalism", and a comprehensive analysis of hate crime laws that have been enacted globally. The book begins by reflecting back on 30 years of theorisation on hate crime laws, arguing that there has been a failure to adequately capture the distinct harms of hate-based criminal conduct within legal frameworks. The book posits that liberal societies interested in advancing social equality ought to expand conventional paradigms of harm used in criminal law by comprehending hate-based conduct as a form of social injustice. Drawing on the work of Iris Young, the book sets out a comprehensive analysis of the harms of hate crime as a form of group-based oppression and uses this to set out criteria for the inclusion of protected characteristics under legislation.

Introduction.- Chapter 1: Criminal Law as "Social Justice Liberalism".- Chapter 2: Social Justice Liberalism and The Criminalisation of Hate.- Chapter 3: Who should be protected by hate crime laws and why?.- Chapter 4: Defining hate crime law globally: Models of legislation.- Chapter 5: Should hate crime laws mean punishing people more?. Chapter 6: Conclusions.