Political economy of punishment: contributions, dilemmas and challenges

Political economy of punishment (PEofP) has long represented one of the most relevant theoretical frameworks in criminology. However, recent Latin American experiences cast doubt on its potential for comprehending patterns and trends of punishment beyond core countries. The intense rise of incarceration rates in a period of considerable economic development in the considered region appears to indicate a possible failure of the PEofP's explanatory power in relation to punishment in the global periphery. Drawing on literature review, I establish a theoretical, methodological, and historical balance of this theoretical framework and offer two paths to overcome its current dilemmas and limitations: rescuing the Gramscian category of `hegemony' and looking concretely at the local, dependent reality. Provided that its contemporary limitations are acknowledged, and its historical premises are adjusted, the PEofP's relevance is renewed. The PEofP is then an essential theoretical framework for making sense of punishment even in peripheral countries.