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FRIHUMSAM-Fri prosj.st. hum og sam

Promoting Justice in a Time of Friction: Scandinavian Penal Exports

Alternative title: Rettsstatsbygging i krisetid: straff som nordisk eksportvare (JustExports)

Awarded: NOK 8.0 mill.

The Scandinavian states export criminal justice through their foreign policy and international aid on issues ranging from prison and judicial reform to women’s rights. Yet, the role of ‘penal exports’ and what it says about Scandinavian penal power, foreign policy, and position(ing) in the international order has never been explored. Criminology rarely considers Scandinavian criminal justice outside the context of the Scandinavian welfare state; international relations give scant attention to penal power in foreign policy; and within the sociology of international law, there is an urgent need to consider the resilience of the liberal international order in a time of friction – including the role of justice promotion therein. To develop criminological theory on how penal power travels beyond the nation state, JustExports combines theory in international relations and international law to explore the overall research question ‘How do Scandinavian states engage in penal exports?’ through three sub-questions (1) How do penal exports travel?; (2) What are similarities and differences in Scandinavian states’ foreign policy use of penal exports; and (3) How do geopolitical changes shape the use of penal exports in Scandinavian states’ foreign policy and international aid? These questions are analyzed in work packages exploring different fields of exports: WP #1 provides a discursive overview of how Scandinavian penal exports travel; WP #2 delves into a case of penal exports to the national level, such as rule of law development in Ukraine; and WP #3 explores a case of penal exports to the international level such as international criminal justice. JustExports provides a knowledge base for civil servants to assess foreign policy and the challenges of the liberal international order by providing them with increased knowledge about how policies are produced, travel, and with what effects. The project emphasizes stakeholder involvement and contributes to SDG 16.

The Scandinavian states export criminal justice through their foreign policy and international aid on issues ranging from prison and judicial reform to women’s rights, and in locations as vast as Afghanistan, Colombia, Kosovo, Myanmar, and Uganda. Yet, the role of ‘penal exports’ and what it says about Scandinavian penal power, foreign policy, and position(ing) in the international order has never been explored. Research in criminology rarely considers Scandinavian criminal justice outside the context of the Scandinavian welfare state; international relations give scant attention to penal power in foreign policy; and within the sociology of international law, there is an urgent need to consider the resilience of the liberal international order in a time of friction – including the role of justice promotion therein. With aim to develop criminological theory on how penal power travels beyond the nation state, JustExports combines moral authority and status theory in international relations with Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘methodological toolbox’ in the study of transnational legal fields in the study of Scandinavian penal exports. It explores the overall research question ‘How do Scandinavian states engage in penal exports?’ through three sub-questions (1) How do penal exports travel?; (2) What are similarities and differences in Scandinavian states’ foreign policy use of penal exports; and (3) How do geopolitical changes shape the use of penal exports in Scandinavian states’ foreign policy and international aid? These questions are all analyzed in WPs exploring three different fields of Scandinavian exports: WP #1 provides a discursive overview of how Scandinavian penal exports travel; WP #2 delves into a case of penal exports directed towards the national level; and WP #3 explores a case of penal exports directed at the international level. By combining key empirical insights from WP #1-3, WP #4 develops theory on how penal power travels and manages the project.

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FRIHUMSAM-Fri prosj.st. hum og sam