Penal humanitarianism? Sovereign power in an era of mass migration

Journal article

Abstract:: Since creating the ‘Returns and Reintegration Fund’ in 2008, the British government has financed a variety of initiatives around the world under the rubric of “managing migration” which have blurred the boundaries between migration control and punishment. This article documents and explores overlapping case studies in Nigeria and Jamaica where the UK has funded prison building programs, mandatory prisoner transfer agreements, prison training programs and resettlement assistance for deportees. These initiatives demonstrate in quite concrete ways a series of interconnections between criminal justice and migration control that are both novel and, in their postcolonial location, familiar. In their ties to international development and foreign policy they also illuminate how humanitarianism allows penal power to move beyond the nation state. In so doing, these overseas programs raise important questions about our understanding of punishment and its application.

Files:: bosworthpenalhumanitarianism.pdf.pdf

(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 292.0KB, Terms of use)

Keywords:: sovereignty

mass migration

Nigeria

penal humanitarianism

colonialism

punishment

Jamaica
Pubs id:: pubs:625716
UUID:: uuid:79b20e59-d751-4d93-95a2-5952e04f9bf3
Local pid:: pubs:625716
Source identifiers:: 625716
Deposit date:: 2016-06-05

Copyright holder:: The Regents of the University of California
Notes:: © 2016 by The Regents of the University of California. This is the accepted manuscript version of the article. The final version is available online from University of California Press at: 10.1525/nclr.2017.20.1.39

Licence:: Terms and Conditions of Use for Oxford University Research Archive

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