7. Globalisation, green crime and state crime Flashcards
Held and McGrew (2007) - definition of globalisation
Define globalisation as ‘the widening, deepening, and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness’. Globalisation involves a process of deterritorialization. This means that an increasing number of social, political, and economic activities are no longer attached to specific countries, but are transnational and stretched across the globe.
A result of this process is new opportunities for crime, and new types of crime
Nature and extent of global crime
Globalisation creates new opportunities for crime, new means of committing crime and new offences, such as various cyber-crimes.
Castells (1998) – argues there is now a global criminal economy worth over £1 trillion per annum. This takes a number of forms:
o Arms trafficking
o Trafficking in nuclear materials
o Smuggling of illegal immigrants
o Trafficking in women and children
o Sex tourism
o Trafficking in body parts
o Cyber-crimes
o Green crimes
o International terrorism
o Smuggling of illegal goods
o Trafficking in cultural artefacts
o Trafficking in endangered species
o The drugs trade
o Money laundering
Beck - Global risk consciosuness
Globalisation has made us more aware of a wider range of risks.
Risks are now global not just local.
We are more aware through global media
Globalisation has bought with it an increase in insecurities surrounding the movement of people such as asylum seekers, economic migrants and terrorism etc.
This in turn had led to increasing border patrols to protect countries from this perceived threat.
Much of this is whipped up by media ‘moral panics’ about terrorists and ‘scroungers’, ‘flooding’ the country.
This has also bought about attempts at international cooperation e.g. The ‘wars’ on terror, drugs etc.
Evaluation of globalisation and crime
The study of this area is valuable as it focuses on some of the newest, most dramatic and serious forms of crime and links them to the local and global contexts.
Castells - The global criminal economy
Castells argue there is now a global criminal economy. The global criminal economy has both a demand side and a supply side. Part of the reason for the scale of transnational organised crime is the demand for the products and services in the Rich West.
GCE wouldn’t function without a supply side that produces the source of the drugs, sex workers and other goods and services demands in the west.
Supply is linked to the globalisation process. E.g., poor, drugs-producing countries such as Colombia, Peru have large populations of impoverished (poor) peasants. 20% of population Colombia, relies on cocaine production for livelihood.
Hobbs and Dunningham - ‘Glocal’ organisation
Crime works as a ‘glocal’ system - it is still locally based, but with global connections. Means that the form it takes will vary from place to place according to local conditions, even if it is influenced by global factors such as as the availability of drugs from abroad.
They argue that changes associated with globalisation have led to changes in patterns of - e.g., the shift from the old rigidly hierarchal gang structure to loose networks of flexible, opportunistic, entrepreneurial criminals. However, not clear that such patterns are new, nor that the older structure have disappeared.
Glenny - McMafia
Relationship between criminal application organisation and globalisation. This refers to the organisations that emerged in Russian and Eastern Europe following the fall of communism. Glenny of traces the origins of transnational organised crime to the break-up of the Soviet Union after 1989 which coincided with the deregulation of global markets following the fall of communism. Most sectors were deregulated apart from natural resources such as oil. These commodities remained at the old soviet prices thus anyone with access to funds - such as former community officials and KGB (secret service) generals - could buy up oil, gas, diamonds or metals for next to nothing selling them abroad at an astronomical profit. These became Russia’s new capitalist class - ‘Oligarchs’
Taylor - Neo-Marxist - Globalisation, capitalism and crime
Taylor argues that globalisation has led to changes in the pattern and extent of crime. By giving free rein to market forces, globalisation has created gender inequality and rising crime
Globalisation has created crime at both ends of the social spectrum. It has allowed transnational corporations to switch manufacturing to low-wage countries, producing job insecurity, unemployment and poverty. Deregulation means that governments have little control over their own economics have little control over their own economics e.g. create jobs or raise taxes, while state spending on welfare has declined.
Rothe and Friedrichs - Crimes of globalisation
Examines the role of intentional financial organisations such as IMF, world bank in what they call ‘wives of globalisation’. Dominated by major capitalist societies. They argue that these border impose pro-capitalist, neoliberal economic ‘structural adjustment programmes’ on poor countries as a condition for the loans they provide. These programmes often require governments to cut spending on health and education and to privatise publicly-owned services (e.g. water supply), industries and natural resources
Held et al - The global criminal economy
As societies become more interconnected, crime increases across national borders. There are new opportunities for crime, new means for committing crime and new offences, such as various cyber-crimes
‘The widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of life from the cultural to the criminal, the financial to the spiritual’
Green crime definition
Crime against the environment. Much green crime can be linked with globalisation and increasing interconnectedness of societies.
Primary green crimes
Crimes of air pollution - criminals: governments, business and consumers. Walter (2013) - twice as many people now die from air pollution - induced breathing problems as 20 years ago
Crimes of deforestation - the criminals include the state and those who profit from forest destruction, such as logging companies and cattle ranches
Crimes of species decline and animal abuse - There is trafficking in animals and animal parts. Meanwhile, old crimes such as dog-fights are on the increase.
Secondary green crimes
State violence against oppositional groups - states condemn terrorism, but they have been prepared to resort to similar illegal methods
Hazardous waste and organised crime - disposal of toxic waste from the chemical, nuclear and other industries is highly profitable. Because of the high costs of safe and legal disposal, businesses may seek to dispose of such waste illegally
Environmental discrimination - is how South (2020) describes the fact that poorer groups are worse affected by pollution. For example, black communities in the USA often find their housing situated next to garbage dumps or polluting industries
‘Global risk society’ and the environment
Most of the threats to human well being and the eco-system are now human-made rather than natural
Beck (1992) - argues that in todays late modern society we can now provide adequate resources for all. However, increases in productivity and the technology that sustains it have created new ‘manufactured risks’ - dangers that we have never faced before. These risks involve harm to the environment and its consequences for humanity (e.g., global heating)
Traditional criminology
Situ and Emmons (2000) define environmental crime as ‘an unauthorised act or omission that violates the law’.
Like other traditional approaches in criminology, it investigates the patterns and causes of law breaking
