Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book brings together scholars whose work engages practices of imprisonment and migrant detention. It opens a space within geography and related interdisciplinary fields such as critical prison studies, criminology and prison sociology, for conversation and dialogue across these ever more intertwined spheres. The book uses the term 'carceral geography' to describe the geographical engagement with the practices of imprisonment and migrant detention. Changing political, economic and social relations in this globalized era have yielded increased pressure and propensity, for some toward greater mobility across state borders. The convergence between immigration law and criminal law enforcement does not stop at borders and points of entry however. The broad conceptual focus and wide geographic net is deliberate and consistent with the goals of sparking insight, dialogue and new connections across ordinarily distinct areas.