5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

This Session aims to discuss the various relationships between security policies, the prison system and correction as alternatives to incarceration from a critical perspective, addressing the dilemmas and possibilities of penal alternatives, including electronic monitoring and measures implemented outside prisons as dispositifs of social control and governance of violence.

We welcome empirical studies, qualitative or quantitative, on the evolution of prison populations and carceral governance, the number of individuals subjected to penal alternatives and the types of crimes committed. We will seek to discuss local and global challenges related to penal policies, the impact of punitive practices, the effectiveness of alternatives to incarceration such as restorative justice programs and social reintegration programs, and the possible intersections between race, social class and gender in the context of such policies and their effects on vulnerable populations.