ABSTRACT
It is now recognised that some problems are not merely complex—they are wicked. Wicked in the sense that the problem is poorly formulated, where stakeholders hold conflicting values and solutions are neither right nor wrong, merely better or worse; wicked problems are hard to solve. Wicked problems are common in complex adaptive systems. A complex adaptive system is not merely constituted by the sum of its components but by the complex of inter-relations amongst its components. Prisons are complex adaptive systems, and the problem of violence in prisons is a wicked problem. In this chapter, it is argued that case-study methodology is a powerful means for deconstructing the nature of the violence in prisons and, critically, for directing interventions. The key concepts of wickedness and complex adaptive systems are reviewed. The implications that these theoretical perspectives have for the design of case studies in prisons are then considered.
