Is there something distinctive about penology in Europe? Do Europeans think about punishment and penal policy in a different way from people in other regions around the globe? If so, why is this the case and how does it work in practice? This book addresses some major and pressing issues that have been emerging in recent years in the interdisciplinary field of 'European Penology': that is, a space where legal scholarship, criminology, sociology, and political science meet - or should meet - in order to make sense of punishment in Europe. The book has been written by leading scholars in the field and focuses in particular on the interaction of European academic penology and national practice, with European policies as developed by the Council of Europe and, increasingly, by the European Union. (Series: Onati International Series in Law and Society)