Introduction: Gender, welfare, and states of punishment

This article provides both an introduction to this special section and a substantive analysis of convergence in the welfare and penal systems in the contemporary United States. After placing this section's contributions in a conceptual and empirical context, I map out some of the ways the gender regimes of the U.S. welfare and penal systems are being combined and coordinated. Although these state arenas remain somewhat distinct in form and function, I argue that there are striking parallels in their policies, discourses, and practices that are suggestive of new strategies of governance that cut across state systems. I also argue that feminist state scholars are uniquely situated to analyze these overlaps and to theorize the linkages among gender regimes, welfare regimes, and penal regimes across time and place.