Abstract

O'MALLEY, Pat. Rethinking the neoliberal penality. Delito soc. [online]. 2015, vol.24, n.40, pp.11-30. ISSN 0328-0101.

"Neoliberalism" has played a key role as a category or concept in critical theories of criminal policy and practice since the mid 1980s. By and large, it has been used to explain the emergence both of general and specific developments in the shift toward more punitive justice in this period. However, recent critiques of the concept have indicated that it is difficult to pin down just what it refers to, especially as it has changed form and content quite extensively over time and across jurisdictions. This article reviews such criticisms and concludes that while neoliberalism was a useful term in early research and theory linking broader political transformations and penality, subsequent developments in theoretical sophistication and in penal political practice have rendered it more of a handicap than a help in understanding the present situation.

Keywords : Neoliberalism; Penality; Critique.

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