The prisoners' dilemma : political economy and punishment in contemporary democracies / Nicola Lacey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lacey, Nicola, author.

Series:

Hamlyn lectures.

The Hamlyn lectures

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Imprisonment.

Imprisonment--Great Britain.

Imprisonment--United States.

Imprisonment--Europe, Western.

Criminal justice, Administration of.

Criminal justice, Administration of--Great Britain.

Criminal justice, Administration of--United States.

Criminal justice, Administration of--Europe, Western.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xx, 234 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Over the last two decades, and in the wake of increases in recorded crime and other social changes, British criminal justice policy has become increasingly politicised as an index of governments' competence. New and worrying developments, such as the inexorable rise of the US prison population and the rising force of penal severity, seem unstoppable in the face of popular anxiety about crime. But is this inevitable? Nicola Lacey argues that harsh 'penal populism' is not the inevitable fate of all contemporary democracies. Notwithstanding a degree of convergence, globalisation has left many of the key institutional differences between national systems intact, and these help to explain the striking differences in the capacity for penal tolerance in otherwise relatively similar societies. Only by understanding the institutional preconditions for a tolerant criminal justice system can we think clearly about the possible options for reform within particular systems.

Contents:

"Penal populism" in comparative perspective

Explaining penal tolerance and severity : criminal justice in the perspective of political economy

Inclusion and exclusion in a globalising world : is penal moderation in co-ordinated market economies under threat?

Confronting the prisoners' dilemma : the room for policy manoeuvre in liberal market economies.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-223) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-18811-3

1-281-75121-9

9786611751210

0-511-41454-4

0-511-41522-2

0-511-41293-2

0-511-41200-2

0-511-81924-2

0-511-41385-8

OCLC:

437219440