Repression as a New Form of Prevention of Social Problems? The Relationship between Welfare and Prisonfare in the Context of Loic Wacquant’s Theory

Radka Janebová

Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to discuss whether and how social policy (welfare) is pushed aside by penal policy (prisonfare) in the Czech Republic. THEORETICAL BASE: The theoretical base is the critique of neoliberalism by Loic Wacquant. Key attention is focused on the functioning of the neoliberal state’s penal policy. METHODS: The text is conceived as a theoretical article examining the analogies between the development of prisonfare in the USA and that of the Czech Republic. OUTCOMES: The analysis of the situation showed that many prisonfare indicators can be found in the Czech Republic, but at the same time, it is necessary to reflect the limits of Wacquant’s theory outside the USA. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: Social workers should begin as soon as possible to reflect on the impact of neo-liberal penal policy on the functioning of their work.

Keywords:
social work, neoliberalism, penal policy, prisonfare, welfare