New logics of (un)deservingness? The discursive construction of a “punitive pocket” in Danish penal policy

Abstract

This article examines the emergence of a ‘punitive pocket’ within contemporary Danish prison and probation policy discourse, focusing on how specific offender groups—particularly gang members—are discursively constructed as less deserving of rehabilitative support. Through a close reading of a key policy document, the so-called Framework Agreement for 2018–2021, alongside related policy developments, the article explores how heightened emphasis on security, staffing challenges, and prison capacity constraints have contributed to rhetorically delineating certain inmates as inherently problematic. These developments are situated within broader debates on bifurcation, bordered penality, and the erosion of Nordic exceptionalism. Rather than identifying a punitive turn, the analysis reveals a more fragmented shift that selectively reconfigures access to core welfare values. In doing so, the paper provides further empirical nuance to ongoing theoretical discussions about how a changing representation of criminals in policy may be subtly reshaping the ideological foundations of state-sanctioned punishment in Denmark.