Abstract
This MSc thesis explores the application of the principles of Nordic Exceptionalism (normalization, openness, education, responsibility, security) in the Danish incarceration system. Specifically, ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with inmates, teachers, and guards were held in the closed Storstrøm prison in Falster, with the main focus on understanding how Information and Communication Technologies affect the inmates’ reintegration into society. An Actor-Network approach was chosen to follow the human and non-human actors involved in this rehabilitation process. The starting point of our research was the collection of information about the use of an intranet platform made to accomplish the educational needs of the inmates, called SKnet. During our endeavor, we engage with matters of rehabilitation, political decisions, public opinion, and technological innovation in the context of the incarceration system. We present our findings on how the aforementioned principles of Nordic Exceptionalism are applied or overlooked in Storstrøm prison and what is the effect of ICT in this process.
