Abstract

The article explores practices of coercion implemented in prison to control and manage «psychiatric prisoners». Such practices are often undertaken in a collaboration between healthcare workers and prison staff. The paper draws from the results of an ethnographic research conducted within different prisons in Northern Italy between 2017 and 2019. Although coercion is generally understood in terms of «immobilization» of subjects, it is argued that it can also be produced through their continuous mobilization. In this sense, coercion can be practiced in a tension between «immobilization» and «forced mobilization». Regarding «immobilization», environmental (seclusion) and chemical (forced medication) coercion within prison are analyzed. At the same time, the article shows how coercion could consist in a forced and frequent «mobilization» of the prisoner referred to here as «circuiting». Taking place within or beyond prison walls, this consists in an endless transfer of the «psychiatric prisoner» to a number of diverse prisons. Circuiting, far from being merely a tool for assuring more traditional forms of restraint, becomes a mechanism of coercion, acting as a pedagogical tool which appears useful in influencing the patient’s compliance with prison and psychiatric norms