The introductory chapter consists of five sections. The first section outlines the political character of the transition in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the perspective from which the volume examines the penal policies of the ten countries selected. The second examines the region’s main features from a historical and social perspective. It includes a brief overview of crime development in the region over the last 30 years. The third section presents in detail the criminological theoretical framework and concepts that serve as a basis for interpreting the penal policies of the ten countries and their changes and for identifying the common features and differences between these policies. The benchmark for change is the degree of punitiveness. The fourth section guides the structure and content of each country chapter, and the fifth section covers the volume’s structure.