Abstract
This article enquires whether modern practices of punishment are undergoing a transformation by investigating the effect that the development of citizenship has had upon modern punishment. Citizenship requires that people expand their horizons of recognition and treat people, who had previously been disregarded, as equals. This is one of the primary cultural influences upon punishment and explains why modern punishment has always partly been an inclusionary project. The effect of citizenship is ambivalent as punishment is designed not only to incorporate offenders but also to underline their `conditional' status as citizens, hence the persistence of brutal treatment. This article traces the influence of citizenship, through the emergence of civil, political and social rights, upon punishment from the late 18th century to the present day. It argues that the `inclusionary' aspect of punishment is waning as the conditions of citizenship are becoming ever more stringent.
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