Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes how, in different settings and ways, Nordic criminal justice systems were folded into a global world and how this embeddedness was related to stakeholders developing and using positive normative valuations of these systems. It sets the scene for the edited volume by analyzing an important site of scholarly and practical debate on Nordic criminal justice. The book documents the twists and turns of the historical evolution of the Ringe prison project, which came to include self-catering, prison officers without professional training, mixed sexes on prison wings and other practices considered radical at the time. It provides an analysis of Nordic legal practices in relation to the globalization of international crime control. The book deals with the official Swedish stance on drugs in international context.