"Offers a valuable contribution to the growing field...a compelling, detailed, and informative account of the degree to which federalism and the division of power constrain efforts to influence the crime policy-making process."--Political Science Quarterly
"An important contribution to the literature on the US punishment boom and problems of American democracy generally."--Contemporary Sociology
"Miller has produced an important, theoretically rich, and arguably counterintuitive work that convincingly argues that local environments are being disserved with respect to crime policy when higher level (i.e., state and federal) governmental entities hold the balance of power....Highly recommended."--CHOICE
"Miller artfully tackles a critical question: why have the people most negatively affected by crime and tough penal policies--who tend to live in poor urban neighborhoods--been so marginalized in national and state-level debates over criminal justice? Her keen analysis helps explain why retributive, law-and-order approaches win out time and again over alternative crime-control strategies like economic development, job training, better schools, and more social services for disadvantaged communities."--Marie Gottschalk, Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, and author of The Prison and the Gallows
"This is a breakthrough book that for the first time brings structure of American federalism into the center of the analysis of America's punitive turn and the politics of crime control. Miller has produced compelling evidence that our political institutions, rather than our social peculiarities, provide the most significant explanation for our unprecedented degree of punitiveness."--Jonathan Simon, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley Law School, and author of Governing through Crime
"Lisa Miller has produced a powerfully thoughtful empirical analysis of the various ways that American federalism amplifies some conflicts and mutes others in our ongoing debates about how best to reduce the harms associated with crime and punishment....while advancing a complex, significant, and timely argument, the book remains highly readable from start to finish....the detailed, rigorous, and innovative empirical analysis provided in this book contributes to filling a major gap....The data provided are rich and multilayered; the argument presented is concise, subtle, and persuasive....Miller's focus on agenda-setting and the relationship between structure and agency make this book an enormous breakthrough....The Perils of Federalism is a must-read."--Law & Politics Book Review
"Perhaps the most important measure of the importance of the The Perils of Federalism has been the wave of research that followed Miller's lead, blending insights from political science and sociology to better understand contemporary punishment. This recent body of work has greatly improved our understanding of the causes, consequences, and nature of the punitive turn." -- Punishment and Society
Review
"Offers a valuable contribution to the growing field...a compelling, detailed, and informative account of the degree to which federalism and the division of power constrain efforts to influence the crime policy-making process."--Political Science Quarterly
"An important contribution to the literature on the US punishment boom and problems of American democracy generally."--Contemporary Sociology
"Miller has produced an important, theoretically rich, and arguably counterintuitive work that convincingly argues that local environments are being disserved with respect to crime policy when higher level (i.e., state and federal) governmental entities hold the balance of power....Highly recommended."--CHOICE
"Miller artfully tackles a critical question: why have the people most negatively affected by crime and tough penal policies--who tend to live in poor urban neighborhoods--been so marginalized in national and state-level debates over criminal justice? Her keen analysis helps explain why retributive, law-and-order approaches win out time and again over alternative crime-control strategies like economic development, job training, better schools, and more social services for disadvantaged communities."--Marie Gottschalk, Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, and author of The Prison and the Gallows
"This is a breakthrough book that for the first time brings structure of American federalism into the center of the analysis of America's punitive turn and the politics of crime control. Miller has produced compelling evidence that our political institutions, rather than our social peculiarities, provide the most significant explanation for our unprecedented degree of punitiveness."--Jonathan Simon, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley Law School, and author of Governing through Crime
"Lisa Miller has produced a powerfully thoughtful empirical analysis of the various ways that American federalism amplifies some conflicts and mutes others in our ongoing debates about how best to reduce the harms associated with crime and punishment....while advancing a complex, significant, and timely argument, the book remains highly readable from start to finish....the detailed, rigorous, and innovative empirical analysis provided in this book contributes to filling a major gap....The data provided are rich and multilayered; the argument presented is concise, subtle, and persuasive....Miller's focus on agenda-setting and the relationship between structure and agency make this book an enormous breakthrough....The Perils of Federalism is a must-read."--Law & Politics Book Review
"Perhaps the most important measure of the importance of the The Perils of Federalism has been the wave of research that followed Miller's lead, blending insights from political science and sociology to better understand contemporary punishment. This recent body of work has greatly improved our understanding of the causes, consequences, and nature of the punitive turn." -- Punishment and Society
About the Author
Lisa L. Miller is Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University.
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