Expertise in the Czechoslovak Prison System: Research Institute of Penology as a Bearer of Expert Knowledge and Change

This article explores the role of expertise in the Czechoslovak prison system from 1960 to 1980. It specifically examines the Research Institute of Penology as a case study to demonstrate how scientific knowledge was applied to penal policy and practice. In the context of post-Stalinist reforms, expertise became an important element in the modernisation of the state, influencing changes within the prison system as well. During this period, psychologists and expert educators began working in prisons, and various research institutions were established to conduct penitentiary and penological research. The article investigates how psychological and educational expertise was utilised to reform prison practices and promote new methods of resocialisation. It also analyses the institutional and ideological constraints that influenced this process. Drawing on archival sources, published reports, academic articles by employees of the institute, and oral history interviews, the study identifies two key areas of research. The first area concerns the institutional position and influence of the Research Institute of Penology within the prison administration, while the second focuses on the implementation of its research findings. Notably, the study highlights the transnational exchange of knowledge, including the selective adoption of Western theories and methods despite political constraints. By analysing the dynamic and often contentious interaction between expert knowledge and state power, the article contributes to the historiography of socialist penology and the history of scientific knowledge in the context of state socialism.