prison states
Mass incarceration countries
Prison states are nations or political entities characterized by extremely high incarceration rates, pervasive surveillance, or authoritarian control over their populations.
The term often appears in criticism of mass incarceration policies: Critics call America a prison state for locking up more people per capita than any other country.
It can also describe totalitarian regimes where citizens are effectively captive: North Korea functions as a prison state.
- jailDetention facility
- cellBasic unit of life
- behind barsIn jail
- wallVertical enclosing structure
- detentionTemporary official holding
penitentiary · gulags · re-education camps · guard · chain · confinement · mass incarceration · secret police · authoritarianism · lockup · totalitarianism · fascism · whistleblowing · political asylum · censorship · sentences · underground movements · truth commissions
prison statesliberal democracies
States combining elections with protected rights
prison, prisons, prisoner, prisoners, imprisoned, imprisonment, imprisoning, imprison, state