Globalisation, Green Crime , Human Rights And State Crime Flashcards
Globalisation of crime
Held et al Suggest there has been a globalisation of crime. Globalisation creates new opportunities for Crime/new offences. There is a spread of Transnational organised crime due to demand for products in rich west.
Castell argues there is now a global criminal economy worth over £1 trillion per annum
1) Arms trafficking To illegal regimes/Guerrilla groups and terrorists
2) Trafficking nuclear materials
3) smuggling of illegal immigrants (Chinese trade make estimated 2.5 billion annually
Global risk consciousness
Globalisation creates new insecurities and produce new mentality of risk consciousness.
Main risks that we know of come from the media which often exaggerated of the dangers we face e.g. immigration = media creates more panics about supposed threat. Negative coverage of immigrants that to hate crimes against minorities in the UK.
UK has toughened border control regulations e.g. finding airlines if they bringing undocumented passengers.
Another globalised risk is increased attempts At international corporations + control various war on terror, drugs and crime particularly since terrorist attack 9/11
Globalisation capitalism and crime - Taylor
Taylor argues globalisation lead to changes in patterns and extent of crime. Globalisation increased inequality and rising crime due to market forces.
Globalisation allowed transnational corporations to switch manufacturing to low-wage countries = creates job insecurity.
Lack of legitimate job opportunities destroy self-respect drives unemployed to look for a illegitimate ones.
Globalisation increase use of subcontracting to recruit flexible workers, often working illegally.
Taylors theory useful linking global trends in capitalist economy changing patterns of crime
Hobbs and Dunningham- Patterns of criminal organisation
Crime organised in correlation to economic changes brought by globalisation.
Individuals with contacts acting as a hub around network forms composed of other individual seeking opportunities and often linking due to legitimate and illegitimate activities
Glocal system- based locally but with global connections eg Availability of drugs from abroad
Mcmafia
Crime organisation emerged in Russia and Eastern Europe following fall of communism itself a major actor in the process of globalisation.
In order to protect their wealth, capitalists therefore turned into ‘mafias’. These new Russian mafias were purely economic organisation formed to pursue self interest.
With this billionaires able to find protection for wealth and a means of moving it out the country.
Green crime
Defined as crime against the environment.
Situ and Emmons - green crime
define environmental crime as “an unauthorised act or omission that violates the law”. (Positivist)
This means that as the law changes from one country to another, green crimes also change.
Rob white - green crime
Believes, green crime should be defined as:
‘any action that harms the physical environment and any creatures that live within it, even if no law has technically been broken’. (Interpretivist)
Giddens and beck - green crime
external forces, eg earthquakes, drought.
In modern society there are now manufactured risks, ie risks that humans produce themselves, through pollution, new illnesses and crime.
Biopiracy
When companies illegally take control of plants/animals/resources being used by indigenous people. Often resulting in the loss of lives/culture due to the people not being able to live e.g. deforestation.
corporate engineering of nature
– This undermines sustainability and diversity bringing harm to local populations e.g. GM crops, building dams, mining and fracking.
Primary green crimes
Air pollution - burning fossil fuels from industry - bophal incident
Deforestation -
Species decline and animal right/ poaching - 50 species becoming extinct a day.
Water pollution - contaminated water/lack of clean drinking water eg nestle company pollution water in India people died
State crime
And illegal or deviant activity perpetrated by or with the complicity of state agencies
State crimes examples
State crimes are committed by or on behalf of states and governments in order to further their policies
Genocide/war crimes/torture/imprisonment without trial/assassination
McLaughlin - 4 categories of State crime
1) Political crimes – to gain or hold power
2) Crimes by security/police forces – to suppress opposition
3) Economic crimes – to do with money/working conditions
4) Social and cultural crimes – to do with racism/sexism/homophobia and other forms of prejudice
Ross - 3 Categories of State crime
1) Crimes in a country and crimes between countries
2) Direct and indirect actions of state
3) Commission (deliberately) and omission (not doing something)
Human right & state crime
One way of exploring state crime is though looking at human rights.
Human rights are:
- natural rights = These are what people are regarded as having simply by virtue of existence e.g. right to life/liberty and Free Speech
- Civil rights = these are rights from the state, like the right to vote/privacy/housing/education
Neutralisation theory- Cohen
Cohan shows how governments use the same techniques as people to explain/excuse their actions.
1) Denial of victim – they are terrorists
2) Denial of injury – they started it/its self defence
3) Denial of responsibility – we are following orders
4) Condemning the condemners – they are picking on/victimising us
5) Appealing to higher loyalty – there is a bigger cause/sacrifice which are inevitable
features that produce crimes of obedience - Kelman and Hamilton
Argued people will go along with human rights abuse in certain circumstances which make it easier for neutralisation.
1) Authorisation – when acts are ordered/approved by those in authority, normal principles are replaced by the duty to obey
2) Routinisation – once crime committed, there is strong pressure to turn act into a routine which individuals can perform in a detached manner
3) Dehumanisation – when enemy portrayed as subhuman rather than human described as animals, monsters, the usual principles of morality do not apply
Green and ward 2 main approaches
1) Integrated theory – in order for crime to happen there must be a motive. Opportunity to commit and failure of control to stop the crime e.g. NASA
2) Obedience approach
Green and Road argue that needs to be a dialectical approach where to ideas formed together and the structure of society and individuals factors are combined. Eg Gaddafi Regime in Libya
-clientism- Corrupt government granting favours in return for financial/political support to keep power. Common in Italy/UK. Viber call this patrimonial states
Spiral of denial
Cohan argues dictatorship is generally denied committing human rights abuses, democratic states have to legitimise Actions And follow three stage spiral of state denial
1) it didn’t happen… E.g. state claims there was no massacre but then human rights organisations victims and the media show it did
2) If it did happen, it is something else – the state says it is not what it looks like ,it’s collateral damage or self defence.
3) Even if it is what you say is, it’s justified – e.g. to protect national security or fight the war on terror
