Globalisation and State Crime

Question 1

who defines state crime

Answer 1

Green and Ward

Question 2

how does Green and Ward define state crime

Answer 2

-illegal or deviant activities perpetrated by or with the complicity of state agencies

Question 3

describe the scale of state crime with a statistic

Answer 3

-states enormous power gives it the potential to inflict harm on a huge scale
-262 million murdered by governments in the 20th century

Question 4

how is the state a source of law

Answer 4

-define who is criminal , uphold the law and prosecute offenders
-it can conceal crime, evade punishment and avoid defining its own actions as criminal

Question 5

why is it hard to prosecute state crimes

Answer 5

-national sovereignty making themselves their own authority makes it difficult for the UN to intervene

Question 6

give 3 examples of state crime

Answer 6

-My Lai Massacre
-Guantanamo Bay
-Dominic Cummings COVID regulations

Question 7

who identifies 4 types of state crime

Answer 7

-McLaughlin

Question 8

what are the 4 types of state crime identified by McLaughlin

Answer 8

-political crimes eg corruption/censorship in North Korea
-crimes by security and police forces eg genocide / torture in Guantanamo Bay and Auschwitz
-economic crimes eg breach of health and safety laws eg Grenfell Towers and Primodos
-social and cultural crimes eg breaching human rights and institutional racism eg Guantanamo Bay and MacPherson Report

Question 9

what are the 4 theories and their theorists who explain state crime

Answer 9

-Authoritarian Personality ; Adorno
-Crimes of Obedience
-Modernity ; Bauman
-Culture of Denial ; Cohen

Question 10

explain Adorno’s theory of authoritarian personality as an explanation of crime

Answer 10

-people have extraordinary ability to obey authority figures, don’t have to be psychopaths
-eg Nazi Germany , Adolf Eichmann war criminal

Question 11

explain the theory of crimes of obedience as an explanation for state crime

Answer 11

• Authorisation =if an authority figure orders something ppl obey it regardless of whether it goes against a norm
  -Routinisation = once it has been committed there is a pressure for it to become routine
  -Dehumanisation = enemy portrayed as sub human so normal morality does not apply

Question 12

what three principles are used in crimes of obedience

Answer 12

-authorisation
-routinisation
-dehumanisation

Question 13

give an example of a crime of obedience

Answer 13

-My Lai Massacre

Question 14

what is Bauman’s theory of Modernity as an explanation of state crime

Answer 14

-modern society enables war crimes
-division of labour (ppl only do one job)
-bureaucratinisation (killing made a job)
-instrumental rationality (obsession with reaching goals)
-science and technology (railways and gas chambers)

Question 15

what are the four main principles in Bauman’s theory of modernity

Answer 15

-division of labour
-bureaucratinisation
-instrumental rationality
-science and technology

Question 16

what is Cohen’s theory on a culture of denial which explains state crime

Answer 16

-stage 1: state denies it
-stage 2: if it did happen it was something else, not their fault
-stage 3: if it did happen it was justified

Question 17

what are the 5 ways to define state crime

Answer 17

-international law
-human rights law
-domestic law
-social harm
-labelling

Question 18

who defines international law as a definition for state crime

Answer 18

Rothe and Mullins

Question 19

how do Rothe and Mullins define international law as a definition for state crime

Answer 19

any action by or on behalf of a state that violates international and/or a states own domestic law

Question 20

give 2 advantages of using international law as a definition for state crime

Answer 20

-does not depend on sociologists own personal definitions of harm or who the relevant social audience is
-it is intentionally designed to deal with state crime unlike most domestic law

Question 21

give 2 disadvantages of using international law as a definition for state crime

Answer 21

-socially constructed and can be influenced by power
-focuses largely on war crimes and crimes against humanity rather than crimes such as corruption

Question 22

who defines state crime using the human rights definition

Answer 22

Herman and Schwedinger

Question 23

how does Herman and Schwedinger use the human rights theory as a definition for crime

Answer 23

-the violation of peoples basic human rights by the state or its agents eg imperialism, sexism, racism or economic exploitation

Question 24

give 2 disadvantages of using the human rights theory as a definition for crime

Answer 24

-highly political definition
-Nazi’s made it legal to persecute jewish ppl

Question 25

give two advantages of using the human rights theory as a definition for crime

Answer 25

-there will be a common international standard, not defined differently by any one single state
-all states care about human rights images as they are the global social norm / shaming provides leverage

Question 26

what definition of state crime does Cohen criticise and why

Answer 26

-human rights definition
-there is not enough consensus of what constitutes a human right
-crimes such as economic exploitation are not self evidently criminal even if morally unacceptable , unlike torture

Question 27

what is the domestic law definition of state crime

Answer 27

-state crime can be identified using the country’s own domestic laws

Question 28

give 2 disadvantages for using the domestic law definition of state crime

Answer 28

-states own domestic law isn’t good enough
-ignores states have power to decriminalise their actions eg Nazi Germany

Question 29

give 2 disadvantages for using the social harm / zemiology definition of state crime

Answer 29

-could be legal but defendant on harm caused by state
-too subjective and hard to measure

Question 30

give an advantage of using the social harm / zemiology definition of state crime

Answer 30

-can be applied to all states and no way out through the courts

Question 31

give an advantage for using the labelling definition of state crime

Answer 31

-law is a social construction and can be changed over time/location/contexts

Question 32

give 3 disadvantages for using the labelling definition of state crime

Answer 32

-too vague and subjective eg Iraq war US and UK lied to invade
-unclear who should make these decisions
-subject to manipulation from the ruling class