This project examines the question of how and why states adopt particular prison policies. Current theories of imprisonment do not examine the processes by which state actors adopt prison policies, and social policy analysts largely ignore punishment as an area of inquiry. This doctoral dissertation research will fill this gap by developing a comparative-historical analysis of prison policy adoption, variation, and change in the American states from 1970-2000. The researcher conceptualizes the practices of imprisonment as a social policy, because like social welfare, imprisonment is a means by which states manage risky populations; it is a state policy that affects structural inequality, unemployment, poverty, and crime. The researcher employs a synthetic approach that relies heavily on political institutionalist and state--centered theoretical frameworks. The historical pattern of prison policy variation and outcomes has implications for contemporary corrections policy.
