“New Punitiveness” in Overseas Criminal Justice Systems: Features, Causes, and Implications

AO Bo*

Abstract: Following the Enlightenment, the principle of human rights protection promoted the transition of criminal justice systems from “punitiveness” to “penal humanitarianism.” However, in the second half of the 20th century, the United States and the United Kingdom witnessed the rise of “new punitiveness,” which is characterized by mass incarceration, a punitive turn in community supervision, and numerous collateral consequences of criminal offences. New punitiveness did not emerge from a unified movement or agenda but was driven by changes in crime control philosophies, adjustments in criminal laws, and the initiation of criminal justice campaigns against a backdrop of perceived severe public safety deterioration. Its deeper causes can be traced to the dominance of neoliberalism in economics, the unprecedented alignment of political elites and public attitudes under electoral and partisan politics, and traditional class control mechanisms targeting specific identity groups. Studying new punitiveness can offer valuable insights for identifying potential risks in China’s criminal justice system at both theoretical and practical levels, while providing methodological inspiration for advancing interdisciplinary research.

Keywords: new punitiveness · criminal justice system · mass incarceration · collateral consequences of criminal offences · criminal law perspectives