The Swedish Prison System in Historical Perspective: a Story of Successful Failure?

Abstract

This article discusses the emergence of the prison system in Sweden during the nineteenth century against the background of the broader context of prison history. Although the number of prisoners had quadrupled already in the first half of the century, it was in the second half that the system was developed. As in many other nations, a heated debate took place on the question of which of the opposing systems – the Philadelphia or the Auburn system – should be chosen. In Sweden this battle between the systems ended with an almost total victory for a Philadelphia‐like system, i.e., on the principle of solitary confinement. During the second half of the nineteenth century, a system built on solitary confinement expanded at the same time as the penal policy took on a more disciplinary character, a tendency that became especially evident at the turn of the century. This expansion continued even after many other nations more or less abandoned solitary confinement. This article argues that this expansion was the result of several factors, the most important being the unprecedented disciplinary possibilities of solitary confinement. The article also argues that this development created a form of ‘successful’ institutions, i.e., well administered, secure and calm institutions, which became one important reason for the remarkably high degree of legitimacy that the Swedish prisons have enjoyed during the twentieth century.