Research Handbook on Penal Policy
May 04th, 2026
The “Research Handbook on Penal Policy”, edited by Alessandro Corda, was published in April 2026 by Edward Elgar as part of its Research Handbooks on Criminal Law and Justice series. The volume explores the processes through which penal policies are developed, contested, and transformed, examining how punitive strategies evolve and why national systems tend to converge in some areas while diverging in others.
Its contributions address issues such as policy transfer across jurisdictions, penal populism, technocratic approaches to penal policy, the influence of human rights, the assessment of punitive outcomes, and decarcerization strategies, analyzing penal governance and the politics of punishment through the lens of decision-making processes as well as the values, interests, and constraints that shape them.
Combining theoretical reflection and normative inquiry with a comparative perspective, the volume is intended as a valuable resource for those engaging with contemporary debates on penal policy. It is aimed both at scholars of criminal law, criminal justice, and criminology, and at policymakers and practitioners within the penal system.
For further information, please refer to the publisher’s website.