Over the past decade, Western penal policies have been largely punitive, manifesting themselves in criminal justice practices. This paper offers a critical examination of the relationship between globalization and what has been described as the new punitiveness. It draws some general conclusions about the role that globalization forces have played across a diversity of Western nations. In summary, globalization forces are seen as having affected the evolution of penal policies in Western jurisdictions in several ways. These forces create or facilitate creation of a policy environment in which punitive policies may thrive. They also accelerate the proliferation of specific policies and particular sanctions, and they have clearly facilitated policy transfer. This has resulted in the proliferation of a variety of punitive policies in a number of countries. The consequences of globalization on penal policymaking are homogenization or harmonization of problems and responses across a diversity of jurisdictions, acceleration of penal policy transfer across jurisdictions, and promotion of short-term punitive policies at the expense of longer-term evidence-based policies. Notes, references