Penal Modernization in the Western Balkans: Continuities and Changes since the Nineteenth Century

Abstract Influential sociologists of social control, including Émile Durkheim, Max Weber and others, conceived of the modern state as progressively moving towards the humanization of its penal programme. This article highlights developments that do not easily fit this progressivist model, drawing attention to the region that today is often referred to as the ‘Western Balkans’ – encompassing states and territories that have been subject to different political systems and constellations since the nineteenth century. Adopting a long‐term perspective, the article traces the convoluted paths of penal reform in the Western Balkans over the last two centuries. It shows how the region's adoption of liberal penal elements in some periods alternated with the return to earlier modes of sanctioning.