Punishment and Democratic Theory

Abstract

Abstract This chapter introduces the central theme that animates the chapters in this volume: that one underexploited resource for a better penal politics lies in investigating the ideals and institutions of democracy, and thinking about how these ideals can be theorized and given practical effect in reshaping the criminal justice and penal arrangements of advanced capitalist democracies today. Penal scholarship has seen the emergence of a defensive, nostalgic orthodoxy, one that sees technocratic governance as the most plausible route out of penal excess. In contrast, this chapter makes the case for enriching the exchange between punishment and democratic theory. By paying closer attention to the unrealized promise of democratic values and commitments, we can sharpen the critique of mass incarceration, restrain the power and reach of the penal state, and focus greater attention on the question of how to reconstruct criminal justice institutions to make them agents of a deeper democracy.

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