Contesting Managerialism: How Economics Supplanted the Social in the Discourse on Prison Privatization

• In Event: Criminal Justice Politics and Policy I

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of "managerialism" in one project in the criminal justice field: prison privatization. Managerialism is a constellation of techniques, discourses, and ideas that emphasize the virtues of private sector enterprise: market solutions, competition, efficiency, accountability, performance metrics. Prison privatization serves as a good site for examining managerialism because it was viewed by many as naturally amenable to managerialism. Yet, previous research has shown that managerialist claims never completely dominated public debates over privatization, as opponents stubbornly tried to frame prison privatization in terms of morality, justice, and humanity. This paper answers two questions: (1) Who was active in shaping the discourse on prison privatization? and (2) Which actors adopted managerialist discourse and which actors resisted it? To answer these questions, we conduct a quantitative content analysis of previously collected data comprising all coverage of prison privatization in four large newspapers--New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Houston Chronicle--between 1985 and 2008 (n=1,491 articles). The research contributes to our historical understanding of how prison privatization was "sold" to the public as well as our theoretical understanding of how public actors resist the onslaught of seemingly hegemonic narratives in public policy formation.

Authors

• Brett Burkhardt, Oregon State University

• Pamela Oliver, University of Wisconsin - Madison