Globalisation and State Crime Flashcards
who defines state crime
Green and Ward
how does Green and Ward define state crime
-illegal or deviant activities perpetrated by or with the complicity of state agencies
describe the scale of state crime with a statistic
-states enormous power gives it the potential to inflict harm on a huge scale
-262 million murdered by governments in the 20th century
how is the state a source of law
-define who is criminal , uphold the law and prosecute offenders
-it can conceal crime, evade punishment and avoid defining its own actions as criminal
why is it hard to prosecute state crimes
-national sovereignty making themselves their own authority makes it difficult for the UN to intervene
give 3 examples of state crime
-My Lai Massacre
-Guantanamo Bay
-Dominic Cummings COVID regulations
who identifies 4 types of state crime
-McLaughlin
what are the 4 types of state crime identified by McLaughlin
-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
what are the 4 theories and their theorists who explain state crime
-Authoritarian Personality ; Adorno
-Crimes of Obedience
-Modernity ; Bauman
-Culture of Denial ; Cohen
explain Adorno’s theory of authoritarian personality as an explanation of crime
-people have extraordinary ability to obey authority figures, don’t have to be psychopaths
-eg Nazi Germany , Adolf Eichmann war criminal
explain the theory of crimes of obedience as an explanation for state crime
- 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
what three principles are used in crimes of obedience
-authorisation
-routinisation
-dehumanisation
give an example of a crime of obedience
-My Lai Massacre
what is Bauman’s theory of Modernity as an explanation of state crime
-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)
what are the four main principles in Bauman’s theory of modernity
-division of labour
-bureaucratinisation
-instrumental rationality
-science and technology
what is Cohen’s theory on a culture of denial which explains state crime
-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
what are the 5 ways to define state crime
-international law
-human rights law
-domestic law
-social harm
-labelling
who defines international law as a definition for state crime
Rothe and Mullins
how do Rothe and Mullins define international law as a definition for state crime
any action by or on behalf of a state that violates international and/or a states own domestic law
give 2 advantages of using international law as a definition for state crime
-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
give 2 disadvantages of using international law as a definition for state crime
-socially constructed and can be influenced by power
-focuses largely on war crimes and crimes against humanity rather than crimes such as corruption
who defines state crime using the human rights definition
Herman and Schwedinger
how does Herman and Schwedinger use the human rights theory as a definition for crime
-the violation of peoples basic human rights by the state or its agents eg imperialism, sexism, racism or economic exploitation
give 2 disadvantages of using the human rights theory as a definition for crime
-highly political definition
-Nazi’s made it legal to persecute jewish ppl
give two advantages of using the human rights theory as a definition for crime
-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
what definition of state crime does Cohen criticise and why
-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
what is the domestic law definition of state crime
-state crime can be identified using the country’s own domestic laws
give 2 disadvantages for using the domestic law definition of state crime
-states own domestic law isn’t good enough
-ignores states have power to decriminalise their actions eg Nazi Germany
give 2 disadvantages for using the social harm / zemiology definition of state crime
-could be legal but defendant on harm caused by state
-too subjective and hard to measure
give an advantage of using the social harm / zemiology definition of state crime
-can be applied to all states and no way out through the courts
give an advantage for using the labelling definition of state crime
-law is a social construction and can be changed over time/location/contexts
give 3 disadvantages for using the labelling definition of state crime
-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
