Globalisaion And Green Crime Flashcards
What is globalisation
- refers to the way in which the world has become more interconnected, the cultural and political boundaries which once separated countries are dissolving
- a result of this process is new opportunities for crime, and new types of crime
Types of global crime - castelles
Castells (1998) identifies a number of typical global crimes
1. Arms trafficking
2. Nuclear materials trafficking
3. 21st century slavery
4. Cyber crimes
5. Sex tourism in developing counties
6. Drugs
7. Money laundering
Supply and demand economics - castelles
- castelles argued “most global crime is suply side economics provided by developing countries, feeding the demand being led by developed countries”
Global crime impacts on all social classes
Taylor (1997) - claims globalisation creates crime at both ends of the social spectrum
Lower social groups - lack of legitimate employment opportunities cause by caused by outsourcing to cheaper labour pools means illegal options become more rational
Higher social groups - globalisation of money markets has led to an increase of insider trading, tax evasion and wide scale fraud
Globalisation and gangs - Hobbs and gunningham
- use the term glocal organisation to explain how new types of gang structures have emerged to facilitate new global markets, particularly with international drug deals. Such new structures do not have the old rigid family based hierarchal structures typified by the Italian mafia of the 1930 and 1950s, rather they’re much more fluid, flexible and faster to respond to emerging opportunities
Glenny (2008) - McMafia
- claims the recent increases of Eastern European gangs are an illustrative example of social, cultural and political changes since the fall of communism in 1998.
- many corrupt KGB (Russian secret police) official bought up coal, steel and mineral industries at low proceeds and sold them on western markets, making billions in the process
- many ex KGB have morphed into criminal gangs with global connections
Evaluation of globalisation and crime
- Taylor’s approach is too deterministic. He fails to explain why some w/c people in similar situations do not resort to crime. His theory only offers partial explanation as it ignores cultural factors
- feminist argue the impact of global crime has meant many global CJS tend to be ‘gender blind’ when it comes to female human trafficking. Treated as ‘tools’ to secure the conviction of criminals traffickers. Often criminalised rather than being seen as victims
- are crimes such as cyber crime due to the impact of globalisation. Grabosky argues virtual crimes are the same as terrestrial crimes but just committed through a new medium. Cybercrime is due to the advancement of technology rather than the effects of globalisation
What is green crime
- these are crimes committed against the environment, its a highly subjective and contested concept
- globalisation ensures that nation states can no longer act as separate entities
- pollution form a factory in one country can cause pollution in another
- traditional criminology examines national laws to see if a crime has been committed
- this approach is now challenged as its argued large corporations have too much power in influencing challenges to environmental protection laws
Green criminology
- takes a more radical approach to traditional criminology
- as different countries have different laws, green criminology seeks to overstep national laws by focusing on the damage which is being done
- Therefore, green criminology adopts a global perspective on crimes against the environment
- in a similar approach to Marxism, it challenges powerful corporations and demonstrated how their unacceptable practices are defended as legitimate business interests
Anthropocentrism vs ecocentrism
- the anthropocentrism view states that humans have the right to dominate nature for their own ends (multinational corporations/big business interests)
- the ecocentric view sees humans and the environment as interdependent - harming the environment ultimately harms humans (green criminology)
Green criminology - evaluation
- g.c has helped to focus the global ramifications of many legal and illegal, but morally suspect actions
- however, because of its very global concerns it is difficult to define the boundaries of right and wrong
- some argue the debate is too biased on subjective issues involving ethics and values as opposed to realist and pragmatic solutions towards solving issues such as fossil sale dependency
Human rights and state crime
Human rights involve:
- civil rights - rights to vote, a fail trial, rights to own property etc
- natural rights - issues involving life itself, freedom from slavery, freedom of thought, freedom of speech etc
A right refers to something you are entitled to. It is basic philosophy underpinning all Western societies
They are enshrined in law - the universal declaration of human rights
H and J schwendinger (1971)
- claim that all crimes should be defined in relation to human rights as opposed to just breaking criminal laws.
- any country can make up laws to suit the purposed of the political party in power
- they argue that definitions of crime need to based on transgressions from human rights laws
S. Cohen (2001)
Cohen is interested in how countries cover up or try to legitimised their human rights crimes
- dictatorships often dents act of torture
- democracies often use complicit laws to legitimise act of torture
Techniques of neutralism
Cohen borrows matzas idea to show how governments use the same techniques as people to explain their actions.
1. Denial of victim
2. Denial of injury
3. Denial of responsibility
4. Condemning the condemners
4. Appealing to higher loyalty
