TY - JOUR
T1 - The long struggle
T2 - An agonistic perspective on penal development
AU - Goodman, Philip
AU - Page, Joshua
AU - Phelps, Michelle
PY - 2015/8
Y1 - 2015/8
N2 - Bringing together insights from macro-level theory about “mass imprisonment” and micro-level case studies of contemporary punishment, this article presents a mid-level agonistic perspective on penal change in the USA. Using the case of the “rise and fall” of the rehabilitative ideal in California, we spotlight struggle as a central mechanism that intensifies the variegated (and sometimes contradictory) nature of punishment and drives penal development. The agonistic perspective posits that penal development is fueled by ongoing, low-level struggle among actors with varying amounts and types of resources. Like plate tectonics, friction among those with a stake in punishment periodically escalates to seismic events and long-term shifts in penal orientations, pushing one perspective or another to the fore over time. These conflicts do not occur in a vacuum; rather, large-scale trends in the economy, politics, social sentiments, inter-group relations, demographics, and crime affect—but do not fully determine—struggles over punishment and penal outcomes.
AB - Bringing together insights from macro-level theory about “mass imprisonment” and micro-level case studies of contemporary punishment, this article presents a mid-level agonistic perspective on penal change in the USA. Using the case of the “rise and fall” of the rehabilitative ideal in California, we spotlight struggle as a central mechanism that intensifies the variegated (and sometimes contradictory) nature of punishment and drives penal development. The agonistic perspective posits that penal development is fueled by ongoing, low-level struggle among actors with varying amounts and types of resources. Like plate tectonics, friction among those with a stake in punishment periodically escalates to seismic events and long-term shifts in penal orientations, pushing one perspective or another to the fore over time. These conflicts do not occur in a vacuum; rather, large-scale trends in the economy, politics, social sentiments, inter-group relations, demographics, and crime affect—but do not fully determine—struggles over punishment and penal outcomes.
KW - Conflict
KW - penal reform
KW - prison
KW - punishment
KW - punitiveness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938220765&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84938220765&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1362480614547151
DO - 10.1177/1362480614547151
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84938220765
SN - 1362-4806
VL - 19
SP - 315
EP - 335
JO - Theoretical Criminology
JF - Theoretical Criminology
IS - 3
ER -