The history of boot camps and related research are discussed in the context of the following topics: theory, ideology, empiricism, symbolic politics, interest groups, policy, practice, evaluation, and panaceas and paradoxes. The author notes that boot camps were not created nor did they evolve from an explicit theoretical model, and there were no rigorous, controlled pilot experiments to test the components of the boot camp model. Instead, they were created to comply with a popular ideological perspective, using a mixed bag of programmatic components that differed according to the jurisdiction, available resources, and the ideological perspectives of the individuals involved in creating particular boot camps. In subsequent scientifically sound evaluations, boot camps have not proven their worth in reducing participants' recidivism; but this has not led to their demise, largely because the ideology that spawned them has retained its popularity. For boot-camp advocates, therefore, the issue is whether they comply with the strongly held ideology, not whether boot camps produce actual changes in criminal behavior. 12 references