How could the relatively low but increasing Swedish and Western European prison populations be explained? The increases do not seem to be due to crime trends or to punitive demands from the public. Instead, the increases appear to be linked to special issues, such as drugs, victims and immigration and the perceived threat from abroad, which have been politically constructed as problems that should be dealt with by means of penal legislation and the criminal justice system. It is argued that politicians are increasingly experiencing a lack of control over developments as a result of "eu-ization" and globalization. Politicians have resorted to law-and-order as a means of increasing their legitimacy as the ultimate defenders of the well-being and security of their citizens.