globalisation and state crime Flashcards
acording to hobs and dunningham what did a traditional mafia set up look like?
a large scare hierachy with a undisputed leader at the top with underbooses and associates. very similary to a family
according to hobbs and dunningham what does the model look like now
the new ‘hub model’ includes an individual in the middle with a loose newtork of connections around them who are toher indivudals seeksing opporunity not a close knit groups
why has mafia crime moved towards this hub model?
due to globalisation contacts can be found from around the would and are no longer eneded to be gerographically in the same place.
allows people to put themelves at the front of thier business model rather than being part of a hierarhcy
more freedom and control of crimes
but less loyalty and contacts constantly changing less stable
what does the hub model lead to?
glocal crime- while local crime still exsits it usually is reliant on global connection (increase in drug trade)
ex. selling cocaine is very gloval as it is made in counties such as argentina and then are sold in drug rigns locally in other cities
evaluate on hobbes and dunningham?
some argeu that the hub model isnt new and the tow models have always co existed. members of mafias have always been involved loosley showing the two can be connected isnt a distincive change
what sociologsts spoke about the mcmafia?
glenny
what is a mcmafia?
organisations that emerged in russia following the fall of communism.
when communism fell the economy was de-regulated and the rich brought up all the natural supplies (this is where Putins money comes from)
this is arguably when transcational organsie crime can be traces back to
a mcmafia a franchise of gangs who pay for the right to oppoerate under the same name like a mcdonalds
example of mc mafia
the chechen mafia embraced this new way to operate and the name became a brand that they sold to mafias in other towns
how does this system benefit mafias and oligrachs
mafias can grow in size and infleunce earning money around the world and the oligarchs benefit from stability and protection
evaluation of studying crime and globalisation
can exagerate the extent of crime- crime rattes have been falling in the UK. most crime is also low level and local
however is does focus on newer and more serious forms of crime
how has globalisation led to an increase of new types of crime
- smuggling of illegal immigrants across boarders
- cuder crime like identiy theft
- drug trade whichis wroth 300-4000 billion anually at street prices
how has globalisation led to risk consiousness
increased movement of people like workers and assylum seekers risen anxiery in the west about risks of global crimes and needing to protect boarders:
- led to UK toughing boarder regulations such as the nationalities and baorders bill which heavily restricts illegal immigration
why does taylor argue that globalisation leads to more crime
globalisation allows large companies to switch mnaifacturing to low wage countries and wc have began to feel insecure in the loss of jobs and turning to crime as its more stable
- creates criminal opporunties on a grand scale for eleite groups like insider trading
- new patterns of employment such as illegal workers or those on under minimum wage breaking health and saftey laws
evaluation of taylor
doesnt adequaltey explain how globasliarion makes people behave in criminal ways
not all poor people turn to crime
deterministic
what do rothe and feridrich argue is causing the increase in crime
international financial organisaition such as the worl bank go into poor countries and start pro-cpaitalist’ economic programmes which usually involved cutting welfare to pay back the loans
in the case of rwanda this led to huge unemployment in the 1980s and provided an eocnomic base for the 1994 genocide
how much is the drug trade worth in street prices?
300-400 million
how much does castels estimate the golbal crime economy is worth?
1 trillion a year
how much is the illegal drug market worth
32 billion higher than the GDP in 88% of counrties
how many of all recorded crime in engladn and wales is drug related?
estimated half
how can green crimes in one country affect another?
atmospheric pollution in one country can cause acid rain in another
what risks does beck argue are present in a late modern scoiety
increase in technology has creates new ‘manufactured risks’ dangers that we have never faces before such as global warming many are global in nature and becka rgue this means modern society is a ‘global risk society’
example of global risk society causing crimes
mozambique in 2010:
russia had the warmest heatwave ever due to global warming cuasing wildfires destorying grain. this had a knock on effect on moqambique who relied on theri exports and saw a 30% rise in bread prices
sparking extensive looting leaving dozens dead
what problem of studying green crime is there
pollution and other envriomentally damaging acts arent neccicarily illegal
what does green crime define as what a crime is
white argues that a green crime is one that harms the physical environment or humans and animals within it without breaking laws (zemiology)
hwo do traditional criminologists view green crime
situ and emmons aregue the green crime is an unorthursied act of ommision that violates the law
why is green criminoloigy a better appraoch to looking at green crimes?
different countreis have different laws so if it was based of off law breaking one country could be punished more harshly than others. defining it based on harm means that the definition can be applied to any country
and means the powerful law makers cannot shape or define law to protect their actions
what are the two views of harm according to white?
the anthropocentic view: human centered view that humans have right to domainte earth putting economic growth before the enviroment
ecocentric view: humans and the enviroment are interdependent. envriomental harm affects humans
what sociologists breaks down green crime into two main types?
carabine et al
what are primary green crimes?
crimes that result dirctly from the destrsuticon of the earths resources
ex. crimes of air pollution as burning fossil fuels adds 6 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere
walters argues that 2x as many people now die from air pollution induced breathing problems as 20 years ago
how many people die from water pollution:
25 million die a year
what are secondary green crimes?
grows out of the flouting of rules aimwd at preventing or regulating envirometnal disasters
what two examples of secondary crimes does south suggest there are
sate violence against oppositional groups :
states condemn terrorism but they have been prepared to resort to similar illegal tactics themsleves sucha s in 1985 french ss blew up greenpeace ship in new zeland killing 1 person. the vessel was attempting to prevent green crime
hazardous waster and organised crimes:
disposal of txoci waster from checmial and nuclear industies
walters- 28,000 rusting bareels of radioactive waster lie on sea bed
why is illegal waster disposal a problem for law enforcement
laws to regualte waste disposal in developed countries pushes business costs up so dump illegally in thrid wourld countries
evaluation of green crimes
focsuing on the borad concepts of harm rather than legally defined crimes means ti is hard to define the boundaries of its feild fo study clearly. determing these boundaries involed making politicla sattemetns about this actions ought to be regarded as wrong
- critics argue thsi is amatter of values and cannot be established objectivley
what is enviromental discrimination
south- poorer groups are worse effected by pollution. ex. black communities in the USA often find their housig situated next to grabase dumps
how do green and war define state crime
illegal or deviant activies perpretrated by or with the complicity of state organisations
what 4 types of state crime are there
McLaughlin
1) politics crimes like cencorship or corrutopm
2) crimes by security and police forces liek genocide and torture
3) economic crimes like violations of health adn saftery laws
4) social and cultural crimes such as insitutionalised cracism
example of cambodian genocide
leader pol pot ordered the deahts of around2 million memebrs of the population (between 1/4 and 1/4) who were university educated or worse glasses become he wanted to go back to an agrarian society
why can sates get away with genocides like cambodia
becuase leaders can hold a monoploy over the violence. as htey most powerful perosnin the country there is no one to persecute him
how do michalowski and kramer distinguish between crimes committed by the state
state facilitated crimes
such as the failure of the syaye to fail to regulate coroprate behaviours which makes commiting crimes like the deepwater hirzion oil rig disater happen in 2012 where 11 people died becuase of BPs failure to take health and saftye precaustions that there facilitiated by the state having bad regualtion
state initiated crimes:
the challenger shuttle diasaster in which the state approved the creation of the challenger which cut costs killing 7 on board seconds after take off
what two types of war crimes can a state commit?
illegal wars
crimes committes during war or in its aftermath
illgal wars
under international law in all cases other than self defense war can only be delcared by the UN security council.
on this basis the iraq and afghanisam wards are illegal
kramer and michalowski argue that the US and UK justified their attacks as self defense by the flase claim that the iraquis possessed weapons of mass destruction
crimes commited during war or its aftermath
kramer and michalowski identify other crimes committed by US governemtn in ira war such as the use of torture methods such as waterboarding
what are the different definitions of state crimes
- domestic laws
- social harms
- labelling and societal reaction
- interantional law
- human rights
domestic law
Chambliss-
defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as representatives of the state
Ignores the fact states have the power to make laws and so can avoid criminalising their own actions
social harms and zemiology
michalowski
if the act causes harm it is a crime despite of the laws
allows state lawmakers to not be protect by their own laws and regardless of differnt laws states cna be brough to justice
but where is the line drawn as to what harm is who decided what count as harm
labelling and society reaction
kauzlarich
Weather an act constitutes as a crime depends on weather the audience view it as that
Recognises that state crime is socially constructed and as attitudes and views change our view on weather it’s a state crime can update. Stays modern within relms of the days norms and value
vague
international law
rothe and mullins
Law created through treaties between states
Doesn’t depend on the sociologists own personal definitions of harm or who the relevnt social audience is instead uses globally agreed definitons of state crimes
Rulling class still defining what is and isn’t a crime
human rights
Schwendinger
Sets a precedent around the wolrd that human rights should be respected and stgma comes from states who don’t respect it becuase human rights are a global social norm it makes states suspetible to shaming proving leverage to make them respect citizen’s rights
Violations of human rights are clear such as torture however crimes such as equal accsess to education what point does it show that a government doesn’t provide that? How does a state meet that quote
Issues in defining it
why do state crimes take place?
- the authoritarian personality
- crimes of obedience
- modernity
the authoritrian personality
adorno idenfites that an authoritarian personality includes a willingness to obey the orders of superiors without question.
research suggests that those who carry out torture arent psycopatths for exmaple adolf eichmann wasnt a abnormal man but had an authoritarin personality
crimes of obedience
state crimes are usually crimes of conformity, since they require obdeience to a higher authoruity
research suggests that many people are willing to obey authority even when it involved harming others
green and ward- individuals who are torturers have to be re-socialised and exposed to propaganda abut ;the enemy’ along with torture being practiced in order for them to effectivley torture people like the nazis
three featuers that produce crimes of obedience are
- ahtorisation
routinsation
dehuminsation of the enemy
modernity
bauman- key features of modern society allowed the holocuast to happen such as
- dvidion of labour
- beurcrasation
- instumnetal rationlity
- science and technlogy
evaluation of explainations of state crimes
- not all genocides occur through a highly organised system that allows participats to distancet hemsleves from the killing. rwadnan genoice taken out by untrained groups
- ideological facotrs are also very importnt such as the 10 years of anti seminitic porpaganda
what is the cultrue of denial
cohen argues that states have to now make a greatter effort to conceal or justify their human rights crimes or re label them as crimes in a three state ‘spiral of denial’
stage 1- it didint happen
stage 2- if it did happen its is somethign else such as self defense not murder
stage 3 even if it s what you say its justified ed ‘war on terror’
