He had a lifelong concern with human rights violations, first growing up in South Africa, later studying imprisonment in England and finally in Israel.

The Mods and Rockers youth riots were then occurring at England's southern seaside towns, which he studied in the sensational press reactions and by direct interviews.

He returned to England in 1996 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and was appointed Martin White Professor of Sociology at LSE, where he worked until retirement in 2005.

Cohen's 1972 study (Folk Devils and Moral Panics) of the UK popular media and social reaction to the Mods and Rockers phenomenon is widely regarded by British criminologists as one of the most influential works in the field in the last forty years.

However, the media response and representation of that behaviour actually helps to define it, communicate it and portrays it as a model for outsiders to observe and adopt.

), Denial at Work: Mechanisms and Rhetorical Devices, Accounting for Atrocities: Perpetrators and Officials, Blocking Out the Past: Personal Memories, Public Histories, Bystander States (Though ignorance is bliss, to what extent is a bystander a perpetrator?, Images of Suffering, Appeals: Outrage Into Action, Digging Up Graves, Opening Wounds: Acknowledging the Past, Acknowledgement Now (societal and personal transformation) and concludes with Loose Ends.

The Guardian wrote, "He leads the reader to the conclusion that it is denial that is 'normal' and an ability to see the truth and act accordingly which is rare, whether in individuals or in governments."

Stanley Cohen writes about how people act blind to reality, due to uncomfortable and uneasy topics.

According to Cohen, many people are in touch with the fact that racial oppression still occurs, along with other acts of human suffering, yet deny that those actions happen.