Development of Criminal Policy in Central and Eastern European Countries

Similarities and Differences in Penal Policy
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-75643-1
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales)

Buch, Englisch, 278 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 567 g

Reihe: Directions and Developments in Criminal Justice and Law

This volume examines the evolution of criminal policy, focusing on penal policy in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries from the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the present and analysing the policy decisions, regulations, and specific conditions that have influenced these developments.

The chapters analyse penal policy across ten countries, highlighting the principal characteristics of each nation’s approach and examining their differences, with particular attention to criminal law, criminalization, sentencing practices, and criminal justice. Focusing on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Bulgaria, the Czechia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia, the book demonstrates how state responses to crime and penal policy have evolved and provides insight into the underlying processes and significant events that have driven these changes.

Employing a comparative methodology and incorporating two cross-cutting chapters on penal policy, sentencing practices, and the rise of penal populism, Development of Criminal Policy in Central and Eastern European Countries is intended for students and scholars of criminology, criminal justice, criminal law, and political science.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lévay, Miklós

Kerezsi, Klára

Ivanics, Zsófia

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Kriminalsoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht Kriminologie, Strafverfolgung
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht Strafverfahrens- und -prozessrecht, Strafverteidigung und Opferschutz

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1.Development of criminal policy, particularly penal policy in Central and Eastern European countries: An introduction. 2.Development of penal policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 3.Penal populism: Evidence-based vs public opinion-driven penal policy in Bulgaria. 4.Changes in criminalization and sentencing in Czechia: An empirical perspective. 5.The evolution of penal policy in Croatia. 6.Penal policy in Hungary: Trends and perspectives. 7.There and back again, or efforts to overcome the heritage of authoritarian punitivity in Poland after 1990. 8.Under pressure: The evolution of criminal policies in Romania after 1989. 9.The development of penal policy in Serbia. 10.The development of penal policy in the Slovak Republic (Slovakia). 11.The development of penal policy in Slovenia. 12.Sentencing policy and sentencing practice in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparative analysis. 13.Democratic and authoritarian attitudes, and distinctive features of punitive populism in Central and Eastern Europe. 14.Conclusions: The recent past is deeply rooted: Changes in crime and penal policies in the 10 studied countries.

Über Autor(innen)

Miklós Lévay is Professor Emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Faculty of Law, Hungary, and Professor at the Széchenyi István University, Faculty of Law, Hungary.

Klára Kerezsi is Professor Emerita at Ludovika University of Public Service, Faculty of Law Enforcement, Hungary.

Zsófia Ivanics is Assistant Lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Faculty of Law, Hungary.