Self-legitimacy of Prison Workers in Slovenia, 2016

Recent studies have highlighted the limited applicability of Western models for explaining self-legitimacy in non-Western prison systems. Consequently, the authors developed a dual-nature model of legitimacy based on the quality of relationships between prison workers and prisoners. The study assessed the suitability of these models for researching prison workers’ self-legitimacy in the Slovenian prison context. In 2015 and 2016, the authors conducted 139 structured interviews with prison workers across the entire prison system in Slovenia. The research was conducted within the framework of the basic research project “Legitimacy and legality of policing, criminal justice, and the execution of penal sanctions (2013-2016)”, which was financially supported by ARRS. A related data publication is also available: Legitimacy and Self-Legitimacy in Prisons in Slovenia, 2016, which includes survey data collected among prison workers and prisoners (see related studies).