Reimagining the sociology of punishment through the global-south: postcolonial social control and modernization discontents

Traditional theoretical accounts in the sociology of punishment largely overlook the situation of crime control and mass incarceration outside Western democracies. In this sense, their explanatory power has a limited reach. It is fundamental to engage with different contexts for expanding the scope...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fonseca, David S. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2018
In: Punishment & society
Year: 2018, Volume: 20, Issue: 1, Pages: 54-72
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Traditional theoretical accounts in the sociology of punishment largely overlook the situation of crime control and mass incarceration outside Western democracies. In this sense, their explanatory power has a limited reach. It is fundamental to engage with different contexts for expanding the scope of this transdisciplinary field, while also rethinking its foundational canons. By thinking through the global-south, the present argument advocates the development of a decentred perspective to punishment and crime control. In a two-pronged approach, the article argues that peripheral countries have attempted to modernize their criminal justice apparatuses, while social control in Western democracies has increasingly adopted postcolonial features. The aim is not only to expand this scholarship by encompassing more diversity, but also to refine existing accounts through insights from other realities.
ISSN:1741-3095
DOI:10.1177/1462474517740888