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Ideologies, Power and the Politics of Punishment: The Case of the British Conservative Party

Guiney, Thomas

Authors



Abstract

Recent scholarship has underscored the limitations of a theoretical repertoire that reduces the politics of punishment to debates over punitiveness, neoliberalism or penal exceptionalism. In this paper I argue that greater understanding of the dynamic interplay between ideologies and power can provide a richer account of the complex and contradictory landscapes of contemporary penal politics. I seek to show that political parties occupy a prominent position within representative systems of government and this mediating role, at the intersection between ideology and power, is closely associated with the production of penal policy outcomes. Reflecting upon the recent history of the British Conservative Party, I conclude that the politics of punishment is shaped, not only by inter-party competition (and consensus), but the dynamics of intra-party conflict.

Citation

Guiney, T. (2022). Ideologies, Power and the Politics of Punishment: The Case of the British Conservative Party. British Journal of Criminology, 62(5), 1158-1174. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azac031

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 26, 2021
Online Publication Date Sep 16, 2022
Publication Date Sep 16, 2022
Deposit Date Sep 26, 2022
Journal British Journal of Criminology
Print ISSN 0007-0955
Electronic ISSN 1464-3529
Publisher Oxford University Press (OUP)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 62
Issue 5
Pages 1158-1174
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azac031
Keywords Factionalism, ideology, law & order, penal policy, political parties, punishment
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/11742623
Publisher URL https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/62/5/1158/6702054?login=false