Compares prison systems of 15 nations, and addresses crisis and change in penology which occurred during 1980s and 1990s. The contributors identify various problems which face penal systems throughout the world, and compare a variety of these systems by employing sociological analysis.

Comparing and contrasting the prison systems of 15 nations, this volume addresses the crisis and change in penology which has occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. The contributors identify both common and unusual problems which face penal systems throughout the world, and compare a variety of these systems by employing sociological analysis. Analyses of the penal systems in industrial, non-industrial, stable and unstable nations are undertaken here, and possible prospects for social and penal reform around the globe are discussed.

Crime, punishment and the "state of prisons" in a changing world
punishment in the American democracy - the paradoxes of good intentions
Canadian prisons
the crisis in Mexican prisons - the impact of the United States
power, punishment and prisons in England and Wales - 1975-1996
Germany - ups and downs in the resort to imprisonment
strategic or unplanned outcomes?
facing difference - relations, change and the prison sector in contemporary China
the Japanese experience
penality and imprisonment in Australia
change and continuity in South African prisons.