Preface 1: The Democratic Process & Imprisonment 2: Explaining Penal Regime Variation: Political Structures & Collective Agency 3: The Case of California: Neo-populism & Retribution 4: Washington State Deliberates: From Fortress Prison to De-escalation 5: New York: Elite Pragmatism & Managerialism 6: Democratic Governance, Social Trust & Penal Order Appendix A: Selected US Imprisonment Rates, 1971-2006
Vanessa Barker is Assistant Professor of Criminology at Florida State University.
"A fascinating book. Barker skillfully shows how enduring cultural
and political forces led states to interpret rising crime rates
differently, creating not a single American penal system, but
rather a patchwork of punitive regimes. Essential reading for those
interested in understanding how distinct patterns of democratic
engagement have shaped this key social institution."--Margaret
Weir, University of California, Berkeley
"The Politics of Imprisonment is the first book to focus on state
penal policy rather than the much-trod territory of America as a
nation, and does so in a way that is both highly original and
well-grounded in social science theory. Barker develops a
well-written analysis of institutions and political participation
that will become an essential guide for those seeking to understand
or find a way out of mass imprisonment in the United
States."--Jonathan Simon, University of California, Berkeley
"This excellent book develops an innovative perspective on the
sociology of punishment, grounded in a rich, textured analysis of
the interplay between political culture and incarceration in the
U.S. By comparing what she calls states' 'penal regimes,' Vanessa
Barker successfully manages to dispel the received idea the
American punishment is somehow all-of-a-piece, while also calling
into doubt the view that democratic participation invariably has
harsh penal
consequences. This is engaged scholarship of the highest
order."--Ian Loader, University of Oxford
"Getting beyond the by now familiar rhetoric of the incarceration
boom, Barker insightfully examines the penal practices of three
American states. In so doing she shows how differences in political
structures and cultures express themselves and shape the policies
and practices of punishment. The Politics of Imprisonment holds out
hope that increased democratization can support less, not more,
coercive penal regimes. All told, this is a very
impressive book."--Austin Sarat, Amherst College
"Vanessa Barker's research on imprisonment rates in California, New
York, and Washington is the most ambitious, systematic, and
empirically accomplished effort to explain striking disparities in
incarceration rates. In finding that the disparities among these
three states are largely a function of variations in political
institutions and modes of political participation--rather than
racial bias, crime rates, and other widely accepted factors--The
Politics
of Imprisonment will serve as a benchmark and a beacon for further
inquiry into this hotly contested issue."--Stuart Scheingold,
University of Washington
"Impressive... [It] does a service for scholars.... The book has a
great deal to commend it. It has already generated much discussion
and raised a range of new resarch questions. It deserves to be
widely read and influential, and it surely will be."--American
Journal of Sociology
"...Barker argues that subtle but crucial differences in political
institutions, democratic traditions, and social trust shape the way
US states punish offenders. She concludes that the apparent link
between public participation, punitiveness, and harsh justice is
not universal, but instead is dependent on the varying
institutional contexts and patterns of civic engagement within the
United States and across liberal democracies." --Law and Social
Inquiry
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