Globalisation, Green Crime, Human Rights and State Crime Flashcards
Name four types of globalised crime.
Thedrugstrade;greencrimes;immigrantsmuggling;armstrafficking;internationalterrorism. Moreexamplesonpage127.
What is meant by ‘Global Risk Society’?
Latemodernsociety,whichisthreatenedby risks that are human-made and have never been faced before, such as global warming and nuclear accidents.
What is meant by ‘Glocal’ criminal organisation.
An organisation dependant on global connections but that still has a local network.
What advantage is there in defining green crime as breaking of the criminal law?
You can clearly see what is or is not a crime.
What disadvantage is there in defining green crime as breaking of the criminal law?
Many harmful actions are not in fact against the law, or may be against the law in one country but not the other.
Suggest two examples of transgressive criminology.
The study of environmental harm and of harm caused by the powerful ( E.g. states and big businesses).
Explain the difference between an anthropocentric and an ecocentric view of environmental harm.
An anthropocentric view is a human-centred view that assumes humans have the right to dominate and take control of the environment. An ecocentric view sees humans and their environment as interdependent, so that environmental harm hurts humans also.
Explain the difference between primary and secondary green crimes.
Primary green crimes are crimes that directly involve harm to the environment (E.g. Destroying The Rainforest); secondary green crimes are crimes that are the result from the flouting of rules designed to prevent environmental harm (E.g. Breaking Laws against dumping toxic waste).
Explain the meaning of the term ‘State Corporate Crime’.
State corporate crimes are crimes that states commit in conjunction with corporations.
Explain one argument for a ‘Social Harms’ definition of state crime.
It recognises that much of the harm done by states is not against the law; it includes not just illegal acts, but also legally permissible acts similar to legal acts in the harm that they cause. It takes a wider view of state wrong doing. It prevents states from ruling themselves ‘Out Of Court’ by making laws that allow them to misbehave. It creates a single standard that can be applied to different states to identify which ones are most harmful to human or environmental wellbeing
Explain one argument for a ‘Human Rights’ definition of state crime.
Because states that practice imperialism, racism and sexism are committing crimes because they are denying people their basic rights. Because virtually all states care about their human rights image, because these rights are now global social norms. Because if we accept a legal definition (that crimes are simply whatever the state says they are), we become subservient to the states’ interests. Because the sociologists role should be to defend human rights, if necessary against the state’s laws.
Name two features of modernity that Bauman sees as making the Holocaust possible.
- Division of Labour
- Bureaucratisation
- instrumental rationality
- Science and Technology
Explain what is meant by ‘Neutralisation Techniques’ and give one example.
Ways that are used by delinquents and the state to justify their crimes, e.g. denial of victim, of injury or responsibility.
