Similar But Different? Distinct Punitive Features of Criminal Legislation in France and Germany

• In Event: Macro Approaches to Criminal Policy and Punishment

Abstract

Highly influenced by developments in the UK and the US, (comparative) Punishment and Society research on punitiveness still tends to analyze other countries through a similar lens, likening punitive phenomena to developments in the US and UK. Accordingly, research on countries such as France and Germany often focuses on what makes these countries opt for more lenient criminal policies than the US and UK.
This presentation however argues that it is also necessary to zoom in on distinct patterns of punitiveness in these two countries for a more nuanced picture, that challenges and complements traditional Punishment and Society accounts.
Focusing on recent developments in criminal legislation in France and Germany, this presentation therefore first presents observations of punitiveness that support but also nuance or even trouble some of the traditional US/UK-influenced accounts. In a second step, the theoretical implications of these findings for Punishment and Society research and in particular for comparative research on the political economy of punishment will be explored.

Author

• Johanna Nickels, Freie Universität Berlin