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Examines the political & social factors leading to the transformation of the Swedish prison system. Since the 1970s, Sweden had been praised for its humane penal system, which incorporated short prison sentences, welfare benefits, the right to leave prison for special occasions, & emphasis on rehabilitation. However, perceived increases in crime rates & drug abuse led to more restrictive penal policies during the 1980s, & in 1991, a conservative government came into power, boosted by an anticrime compaign that called for longer & more repressive prison sentences. Although an economic crisis brought the Social Democratic Party back into power in 1994, this government has maintained many of the conservative government's innovations, including mandatory incarceration for 66% of a sentence, electronic tagging of certain criminals, & harsher drug policies. However, the Social Democrats have also recommitted themselves to incarceration alternatives & crime prevention through welfare, education, drug programs, etc. It is concluded that the shift toward a more punitive & exclusionary philosophy is the product of recent social, political, & media attitudes that regard crime & criminals (especially drugs) as an external attack on Swedish values. 5 Tables, 40 References. T. Sevier