POST-SOVIET TO EUROPEAN? DIVERGING PATHS OF PRISON SYSTEMS AND CARCERAL COLLECTIVISM IN THE BALTIC STATES (BRIDGE)
The Research Council of Lithuania is funding the project "Post-Soviet to European? Diverging Paths of Prison Systems and Carceral Collectivism in the Baltic States (BRIDGE)", implemented by the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, under the Programme for the Implementation of Lithuanian Studies Priority Areas for 2025–2030.
In contemporary criminology, imprisonment is increasingly analysed not merely as a formal punitive measure fulfilling specific functions, but as a moral, social and emotional space in which relationships, power structures and social climate are produced. This space is shaped by countries’ developmental trajectories, historical memory, and broader political, cultural and economic processes. Following the restoration of independence, the Baltic states shared similar historical starting positions; however, over time, their developmental trajectories and reform outcomes have diverged.
The aim of the project is to analyse the developmental trajectories of prison systems in the Baltic states and the characteristics of carceral collectivism and cell-based imprisonment, examining how different forms of imprisonment are subjectively experienced by prison staff and prisoners, and how they shape and transform the organisational and social climate of prisons.
The project objectives are:
To review the major reforms of the execution of sentences implemented in each Baltic State since the restoration of independence, identifying their main directions and their impact on the development of prison systems.
To conduct empirical research in prisons in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in order to identify the characteristics and differences between carceral collectivism and cell-based imprisonment, by analysing prison architecture and physical space, the intensity of communal life, and the manifestations of prison subculture in each case.
To examine how the characteristics of carceral collectivism and cell-based imprisonment shape the organisational and social life of prisons, and how these models are internalised and experienced by prison staff and sentenced prisoners.
Drawing on theoretical literature and empirical findings, to identify the specific challenges characteristic of the Baltic region, conceptualise them within the broader global criminological debate, critically assess the possibilities and limitations of transferring and adapting Western good practices, and identify future directions for the development of prison systems in the region.
The project will generate new analytical insights into the development of prison systems in the Baltic states, grounded in an analysis of the social, political, legal, economic and historical processes that have shaped the region.
The research team of the project consists of: Dr Rūta Vaičiūnienė (project leader), Dr Gavin Slade, Dr Arta Jalili Idrissi, and PhD candidate Goda Dainauskaitė.
Project duration: 1 July 2026 – 30 December 2028.
Projekto partneriai Lithuanian Prison Service, Latvian Prison Administration, and the Estonian Prisons and Probation Service under the Estonian Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs.
Project budget EUR 199,999.
The project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), Contract No. S-LISm-26-19.