"A fascinating book. Barker skillfully shows how enduring cultural and political forces led states to interpret rising crime rates differently, creating not a single American penal system, but rather a patchwork of punitive regimes. Essential reading for those interested in understanding how distinct patterns of democratic engagement have shaped this key social institution."--Margaret Weir, University of California, Berkeley

"The Politics of Imprisonment is the first book to focus on state penal policy rather than the much-trod territory of America as a nation, and does so in a way that is both highly original and well-grounded in social science theory. Barker develops a well-written analysis of institutions and political participation that will become an essential guide for those seeking to understand or find a way out of mass imprisonment in the United States."--Jonathan Simon, University of California, Berkeley

"This excellent book develops an innovative perspective on the sociology of punishment, grounded in a rich, textured analysis of the interplay between political culture and incarceration in the U.S. By comparing what she calls states' 'penal regimes, ' Vanessa Barker successfully manages to dispel the received idea the American punishment is somehow all-of-a-piece, while also calling into doubt the view that democratic participation invariably has harsh penal consequences. This is engaged scholarship of the highest order."--Ian Loader, University of Oxford

"Getting beyond the by now familiar rhetoric of the incarceration boom, Barker insightfully examines the penal practices of three American states. In so doing she shows how differences in political structures and cultures express themselves and shape the policies and practices of punishment. The Politics of Imprisonment holds out hope that increased democratization can support less, not more, coercive penal regimes. All told, this is a very impressive book."--Austin Sarat, Amherst College

"Vanessa Barker's research on imprisonment rates in California, New York, and Washington is the most ambitious, systematic, and empirically accomplished effort to explain striking disparities in incarceration rates. In finding that the disparities among these three states are largely a function of variations in political institutions and modes of political participation--rather than racial bias, crime rates, and other widely accepted factors--The Politics of Imprisonment will serve as a benchmark and a beacon for further inquiry into this hotly contested issue."--Stuart Scheingold, University of Washington

"Impressive... [It] does a service for scholars.... The book has a great deal to commend it. It has already generated much discussion and raised a range of new resarch questions. It deserves to be widely read and influential, and it surely will be."--American Journal of Sociology

"...Barker argues that subtle but crucial differences in political institutions, democratic traditions, and social trust shape the way US states punish offenders. She concludes that the apparent link between public participation, punitiveness, and harsh justice is not universal, but instead is dependent on the varying institutional contexts and patterns of civic engagement within the United States and across liberal democracies." --Law and Social Inquiry