crime - state crime Flashcards
whats a defenition of state crime
green and ward - illegal or deviant activities committed by state agencies
whats the scale of state crimes
extremely large scale so its power enables it to conceal its crimes or evade punishment. state also defines what crime is & manages criminal justice system
what are examples of state crimes
partygate during lockdown, grenfell tower in 2017, rwanda genocide in 90s
whats the domestic law defenition of state crime
chambliss - acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials while executing their duties as representatives of the state
why is chambliss’ definition domestic law
limited to the legal framework within a particular country
whats an example of a domestic law (chambliss)
MP expenses scandals - claimed expenses beyond the permissible limits as part of their job benefits. MPs committed it while performing their duties as state officials
whats an evaluation of domestic law
using states own domestic law is inadequate b/c the state have power to make their own laws & avoid criminalising their own actions e.g nazi germany passing a law to sterilise disabled ppl
whats the social harms/zemiology defenition of state crime
michalowski - state crime includes not only illegal actions but also those legally permissible actions that have similar harmful consequences as illegal actions
based on study of zemiology (focuses on the harm caused by state actions)
whats an example of zemiology state crime (malinowski)
UK’s austerity policies considered state crimes under this def - altho theyre legally permissiable, theyve caused harm to people through decline in public services and difficulties in accessing necessities
whats an evaluation of zemiology/social harms
creates a single standard that can be applied to multiple states
but what level of harm must be caused before its considered a crime? danger of making field of study too wide
whats the labelling definition of state crime
state crime is a social construct & what counts as state crime is different depending on who/when/where you ask the question
whats an evaluation of labelling defenition of state crime
recognises its socially constructed so what ppl consider sc as can vary across cultures
however audiences can be manipulated e.g r/c ideology, may use media to persuade public to see war as legitimate not criminal
whats the international law definition of state crime
laws created through treaties and agreements between states e.g geneva and hague conventions on war crimes
whats an evaluation of international law defenition of state crime
doesnt depend on individual definitions, instead uses globally agreed definitions & acc intended to prevent state crime unlike domestic law
but focuses largely on war crimes & agaisnt humanity, ignoring things like corruption
whats the human rights definition of state crime
schwendingers - if an act violates human rights it should be a crime, e.g imperalism/racism/sexism
whats a positive evaluation for human rights definition of state crime
risse et al - virtually all states care abt their human rights image bc theyre global social norms. makes them sucseptible to shaming and can provide leverage to make them respect civilians rights
whats an evaluation of human rights definition of state crime
cohen - while gross violations of human rights like torture are clearly criminal, other acts such as economic exploitation arent self-evidently criminal despite being morally unacceptable
types of state crime - whats political criminality
mclaughlin - acts committed by the state or its agents to maintain power or suppress opposition e.g fraud, curruption,
political criminality - whats clientism
when the gov places needs of its donors and corporations above the needs of people e.g in covid - granting of contracts to companies with no prior experience in PPE production
political criminality - what are war crimes
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war, intentionally killing civilians/mass killings e.g israels bombing & blockades in gaza
types of state crime - what are crimes of state security or police
acts of torture, police brutality or injury/death to ppl in custody (e.g genocide)
state security & police crimes - whats an example & def of imprisonment w/out trial
detained in a prison without knowledge of why or for how long e.g detention of citizens on suspicion of terrorism at Guantanamo Bay w/out evidence
state security & police crimes - whats an example & def of tortue
inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something - Operation Demetrius in NI during the Troubles where 300 men arrested without charge and subjected to sensory deprivation torture by british army
types of state crimes - what are economic crimes
corrupt practices such as embezzlement, bribery, and money laundering by state officials
economic crimes - whats a type of economic crime
violations of health and safety laws, where govs knowingly permit health and safety breaches in public services to reduce costs or maximize profits
economic crimes - whats an example of a health and safety economic crime
michigan water contamination where gov ignored the fact the water was undrinkable & so didnt take action
types of state crimes - what are social and cultural crimes
the violation of human rights, such as discrimination based on race, gender, or sexuality
social & cultural crimes - what are examples of social and cultural crimes
homosexuality being illegal in 70 countries & punishiable by stoning in brunei
jim crow laws
US destruction of Native American sights and lands
whats an evaluation of social and economic crimes
many states have laws that are based on religion & this discrimination is based on religious beliefs - e.g poland banning abortion is to do w their catholic views
whats an evaluation of state crimes - defining state crimes
defining legal activities in one nation as a state crime can be seen as imposition of western values - crime is a social construction, nations have right to self govern
how can we explain state crimes
while genocides are ordered & organised by state leaders, they cant happen w/out co operation of soldiers- how do normally law-abiding citizens become involved?
explaining state crimes - whats the authoritarian personality
adorno - includes a willingness to obey orders from superiority without question e.g many germans in ww2 had this b/c of the socialisation patterns in germany at the time
explaining state crimes - authoritarian personality & psychology
often thought ppl who carry out genocide are psychopaths, but found theres little physcological difference between them & normal ppl
explaining state crimes - whats an example of someone with an authoritariaan personality
arendt study of nazi war criminal adolf eichmann found him to be relatively normal and not psychopathic
explaining state crimes - what are crimes of obedience
crimes usually defined as deviating from social norms, but state crimes require conformity b/c they require obedience to higher authority e.g police officer accepting bribes from higher ups
explaining state crimes - how are people made obediant to crimes
green & ward - to overcome norms against cruelty, ppl who became torturers are often re-socialised, trained & exposed to propaganda about the ‘enemy’. often set up as a 9-5 where they can see crimes as apart of their job
explaining state crimes - what are the 3 features that produce crimes of obediance
kelman & hamilton - authoritisation: acts ordered by powerful to replace moral principle w/ duty to obey
routinisation: once crime is comitted, pressure into a routine that ppl can perform in a detatched manner
dehumanisation: enemy is portrayed in a sub-human manner, so moral principles dont apply
explaining state crimes - whats modernity
some argue the holocaust represented a breakdown of modern civilisation into pre-modern barbarism, but zygmunt argues there were key features of modern society that made it possible
explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 1
division of labour- each person resposible for one small task, no one felt personally responsible
explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 2
bureaucratisation- normalising the killing by making it a routine, rule goverened job as well as dehumanising ppl as ‘units’
explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 3
instrumental rationality- using rational efficient methods to achieve a goal regardless of what the goal is, for business its profit, for holocaust it was murder
explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 4
science & technology- railways transporting victims to deathcamps, industrially produced gas to kill
explaining state crimes - whats an evaluation of zygmunts features
even tho the modern rational division of labour mayve supplied means for the holocaust, it was motivated by racist ideology along w/ decades of anti-semitic propaganda that helped create bystanders & willing participants
explaining state crimes - whats the culture of denial
alvarez- growing impact of the international human rights movement, which cohen argues means states have to make the effort to conceal/justify their human rights crimes or de-label them as crimes
explaining state crimes - whats does cohen say about democratic v dictatorships
while dictatorships will flat out deny human rights abuses, democratic states follow the spiral of state denial
explaining state crimes - whats the spiral of state crime
stage1- it didnt happen, state denying a massacre but media shows images of it happening
stage2- if it did happen, it was smth else like self-defence
stage3- even if it is what u say it is, its justified, like the war on terror
explaining state crimes - what are cohen’s state techniques of neuteralisation
denial of victim- theyre terrorists, violent, exaggerating
denial of injury- we’re the victims not them
denial of responsibility- i was only following orders/doing duty (officers, camp guards)
condemning the condemners- they only condemn us b/c of anti-semitism (israeli version)
appeal to higher loyalty- self-righteous justification that claim to be serving a higher cause, zionism,islam or defence of the free world
