Whither Neoliberal penality? The past, present and future of imprisonment in the US

Debates about the trajectory of prison rates in the US, on one hand, and about the prospects of the neoliberal international order, on the other hand, suggest the time is ripe for a reappraisal of penological scholarship on the relationship between neoliberalism and imprisonment. With the aim of responding to this challenge, this article considers the relevance of the so-called ‘neoliberal penality thesis’ as a framework through which to interpret recent and ongoing developments in US imprisonment. We first set out the core propositions of the thesis, and engage with a range of critiques it has attracted regarding the role of crime and government institutions, the evolution and functions of state regulation and welfare provision, and reliance on imprisonment as an indicator of state punitiveness. We then outline the principal arguments that have arisen about the direction of contemporary prison trends in the US, including since Donald Trump was elected to the presidency and took office, and proceed to distill their commonly opaque treatment of the intersections between neoliberalism and imprisonment, also clarifying their respective implications for the neoliberal penality thesis in light of the main critiques leveled previously against it. In so doing, we go beyond the penological field to take into account concerns about the vitality of neoliberalism itself. We conclude that international politico-economic developments have cast doubt over the pertinence of neoliberalism as an organising concept for analysis of penal trends in the near future

What's Left? Political orientation, economic conditions and incarceration in Greece under Syriza-led government

An important body of scholarly work has been produced over recent decades to explain variation in levels and patterns of state punishment across and within different countries around the world. Two variables that have curiously evaded systematic attention in this regard are, first, the orientation of incumbent governments along the political spectrum, and second, the experience and fiscal implications of national economic downturn. Although recent years have seen both variables receive somewhat greater consideration, there is still precious little research into the effects on state punishment that they have in interaction with one another. With a view to helping fill this gap in the literature, this article identifies the direction and assesses the extent of influence exerted by government political orientation, on one hand, and economic downturn alongside its fiscal repercussions, on the other hand, upon the evolution of incarceration in the context of contemporary Greece. In so doing, we offer a uniquely detailed account of carceral trends before and during the period that a coalition government led by the left-wing Syriza party was in power. With regard to carceral trends as such, the scope of our analysis extends beyond conventional imprisonment also to include immigration detention. As well as arguing that economic downturn can place crucial limits on a government’s ability to execute progressive plans in carceral matters, we additionally conclude that a government’s scope of action in this vein may be further restricted depending on the autonomy it can wield in defiance of foreign forces intervening in both economic and political realms

From the outside in: narratives of creative arts practitioners working in the criminal justice system

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Wiley-Blackwell in The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice on 31/12/2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12318 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.The penal voluntary sector is highly variegated in its roles, practices and functions, though research to date has largely excluded the experiences of front-line practitioners. We argue that engaging with the narratives of practitioners can provide fuller appreciation of the potential of the sector’s work. Though life story and narrative have been recognised as important in offender desistance (Maruna, 2001), the narrative identities of creative arts practitioners, who are important ‘change agents’ (Albertson, 2015), are typically absent. This is despite evidence to suggest that a practitioner’s life history can be a significant and positive influence in the rehabilitation of offenders (Harris, 2017). Using narratological analysis (Bal, 2009), this study examined the narratives of 19 creative practitioners in prisons in England and Wales. Of particular interest were the formative experiences of arts practitioners in their journey to prison work. The findings suggest that arts practitioners identify with an ‘outsider’ status and may be motivated by an ethic of mutual aid. In the current climate of third sector involvement in the delivery of criminal justice interventions, such a capacity may be both a strength and weakness for arts organisations working in this field

Crime and politics in the Greek crisis: corruption, common crime and organised political violence

Book synopsis: In periods of intense crisis the pressing need to take sides comes to the surface and trumps neutrality. The claim to objectivity, always a little problematic, can no longer be sustained, and becomes itself a ground of confrontation as the conflicts amongst economists and constitutional lawyers show. As the world is moving towards a state of permanent crisis the engaged intellectual and the committed media are coming back (Costas Douzinas, Professor of Law and Contributor to The Guardian). This is a crucial collection that provides a new perspective on the social dimension of crisis - exemplified in the new wave of social mobilization gaining ground across the globe. The collection is an invigorating addition to the market of ideas circulating at this time of uncertainty, austerity and social change. It is an important and timely contribution to the study of social movements and the rise of direct civil action in pursuit of democracy. In this milieu of social change, Athens is its muse. This book is one of the first collections of chapters devoted to the specificities of Greece’s crisis in English that does not focus solely on economics. Its scope and intention aligns it with other recently published books on the ‘Arab Spring’ and the ‘Occupy’ movements, although its register moves away from journalistic commentary to academic considerations of futurity and the potential of the city to reinvent itself. This makes it a unique interdisciplinary project with a broad appeal

The politics of crime and the financial crisis in Greece

The exasperation of the domestic public has placed significant pressure on Greek politicians to put a halt to treating elite corruption with impunity. Unfortunately this has been pressure which they have proved overwhelmingly able to resist, notwithstanding the indictment of a former Minister of Defence in 2012. As a result the blame has fallen elsewhere

Exploring the relationship between inequality, crime and punishment: some afterthoughts on method

Book synopsis: The question of inequality has moved decisively to the top of the contemporary intellectual agenda. Going beyond Thomas Piketty's focus on wealth, increasing inequalities of various kinds, and their impact on social, political and economic life, now present themselves among the most urgent issues facing scholars in the humanities and the social sciences. Key among these is the relationship between inequality, crime and punishment. The propositions that social inequality shapes crime and punishment, and that crime and punishment themselves cause or exacerbate inequality, are conventional wisdom. Yet, paradoxically, they are also controversial. In this volume, historians, criminologists, lawyers, sociologists and political scientists come together to try to solve this paradox by unpacking these relationships in different contexts. The causal mechanisms underlying these correlations call for investigation by means of a sustained programme of research bringing different disciplines to bear on the problem. This volume develops an interdisciplinary approach which builds on but goes beyond recent comparative and historical research on the institutional, cultural and political-economic factors shaping crime and punishment so as better to understand whether, and if so how and why, social and economic inequality influences levels and types of crime and punishment, and conversely whether crime and punishment shape inequalities

¿Qué tiene que ver el neoliberalismo con esto? Hacia una economía política del castigo en Grecia

Book synopsis: El presente libro recoge una serie de trabajos que comentan, explican o critican la obra de Loïc Wacquant, o que la han utilizado para desarrollar investigaciones originales o interpretar determinados fenómenos sociales desde una óptica diferente. Loïc Wacquant es profesor de Sociología en la Universidad de California, Berkeley, e investigador en el Centre de Sociologie Européene en París. Su importancia en las ciencias sociales ha ido en aumento en las dos últimas décadas. Ha pasado de ser conocido como colaborador de Pierre Bourdieu a ser un respetado invetigador, cuyas obras han supuesto importantes aportaciones a los respectivos campos que estudian, y han sido objeto de recientes debates. Sus temas de interés abarcan la teoría sociológica, el cuerpo, la desigualdad urbana, la dominación etnoracial y el papel y el desarrollo de las cárceles y de la policía. Reflejo de esta variedad es la presencia de distintas disciplinas entre los autores de este libro: sociólogos, antropologos, politólogos, criminólogos y penalistas. Así mismo, la repercusión internacional de la obra de Wacquant se ve reflejada en su procedencia: España, Francia, Italia, Grecia, Alemania, Argentina y Puerto Rico

The violence of inequality: race and lobbying in the politics of crime and criminal justice in the United States

Book synopsis: The question of inequality has moved decisively to the top of the contemporary intellectual agenda. Going beyond Thomas Piketty's focus on wealth, increasing inequalities of various kinds, and their impact on social, political and economic life, now present themselves among the most urgent issues facing scholars in the humanities and the social sciences. Key among these is the relationship between inequality, crime and punishment. The propositions that social inequality shapes crime and punishment, and that crime and punishment themselves cause or exacerbate inequality, are conventional wisdom. Yet, paradoxically, they are also controversial. In this volume, historians, criminologists, lawyers, sociologists and political scientists come together to try to solve this paradox by unpacking these relationships in different contexts. The causal mechanisms underlying these correlations call for investigation by means of a sustained programme of research bringing different disciplines to bear on the problem. This volume develops an interdisciplinary approach which builds on but goes beyond recent comparative and historical research on the institutional, cultural and political-economic factors shaping crime and punishment so as better to understand whether, and if so how and why, social and economic inequality influences levels and types of crime and punishment, and conversely whether crime and punishment shape inequalities

The trumping of neoliberal penality? Trump’s Presidency and the rise of nationalist authoritarianism in the US

Book synopsis: As the distinction between domestic and international is increasingly blurred along with the line between internal and external borders, migrants—particularly people of color—have become emblematic of the hybrid threat both to national security and sovereignty and to safety and order inside the state. From building walls and fences, overcrowding detention facilities, and beefing up border policing and border controls, a new narrative has arrived that has migrants assume the risk for government-sponsored degradation, misery, and death. Crimmigrant Nations examines the parallel rise of anti-immigrant sentiment and right-wing populism in both the United States and Europe to offer an unprecedented look at this issue on an international level. Beginning with the fears and concerns of immigration that predate the election of Trump, the Brexit vote, and the signing and implementation of the Schengen Agreement, Crimmigrant Nations critically analyzes nationalist state policies in countries that have criminalized migrants and categorized them as threats to national security. Highlighting a pressing and perplexing problem facing the Western world in 2020 and beyond, this collection of essays illustrates not only how anti-immigrant sentiments and nationalist discourse are on the rise in various Western liberal democracies, but also how these sentiments are being translated into punitive and cruel policies and practices that contribute to a merger of crime control and migration control with devastating effects for those falling under its reach. Mapping out how these measures are taken, the rationale behind these policies, and who is subjected to exclusion as a result of these measures, Crimmigrant Nations looks beyond the level of the local or the national to the relational dynamics between different actors on different levels and among different institutions

Spaces of contestation: challenges, actors and expertise in the management of urban security in Greece

Urban security has emerged as one of the key priorities in political and public life in Greece over recent years, and especially since the country fell into financial crisis in 2009. This article offers an unprecedented overview of the challenges, actors and expertise in the management of urban security in Greece, drawing attention to the political tensions that envelop them. The first section focuses on the phenomena considered to constitute core challenges for urban security in the country: from common crime, immigration and urban poverty and degradation, to social unrest, policing, far-right militias and vigilantism. The various state and non-state actors engaged in the management of urban security are then outlined, and the relationship between expertise and official policy-making is critically assessed. Objective and subjective forms of insecurity are shown to be highly contentious, responses to such insecurities are found to produce insecurities in their own right, and constraints upon non-technical expertise are identified as limiting the scope of pertinent state policy