The shadow of carceral collectivism
A case study of prison reform and policy transfer failure in Moldova
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2469Palavras-chave:
prison reform, carceral collectivism, Europeanisation, policy transfer, Moldova, juvenile justice, post-soviet penalityResumo
Europeanisation of post-Soviet prisons is a challenging endeavour because of the deeply rooted and enduring legacy of carceral collectivism. This paper examines the critical case of reform in the Goian Juvenile Detention Centre, created as a European model prison for Moldova. Adopting a reflexive autoethnographic approach to analyse data from multiple sources collected over a decade, this paper provides insights into the interplay between path-dependent colonial legacies and Europeanisation-driven reforms. The research revealed that improved infrastructure and piloted practices inspired from Norway, though necessary, were insufficient to sustainably transform the institutional culture and the logic of punishment. The entrenched repressive mentality resurfaced after an escape incident, triggering lasting reform setbacks and heightened levels of violence, thereby demonstrating what scholars call “the paradox of reform”. Furthermore, this case of hybrid carceral collectivism, a “soviet-inherited subculture” operating in “European-like” physical space, is illuminating for a theoretical and empirical understanding of post-Soviet penal reform trajectories and the varieties of order such hybrid models instil.
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