Author Description

Discourse, Power and Justice is a distinctive and theoretically informed, empirical study of the administration of the prison system. It is based on extensive research, mainly in Scotland, and combines theoretical innovation with detailed empirical evidence. The book is located at a confluence of two academic sub-disciplines and their associated literature, socio-legal studies of justice and the sociology of knowledge. Their combination has produced a novel theoretical framework. The authors focus on the activities of those who manage the prison system. They identify the most important social actors in the system, located both historically and comparatively, and examine their characteristic forms of discourse. A major focus of the book is on the different forms and mechanisms of accountability and the book concludes with an analysis of recent policy changes.