State Crime

Question 1

Green & Ward (2005)

Answer 1

define state crime as illegal dev activs perp by / w/ complicity of state agencies

Question 2

McLaughlin (2001)

Answer 2

4 categories of state crime;
political - corruption/censorship
crimes by sec / police forces - genocide / torture
economic - violation of health & safety laws
soc & cul - insitu racism

Question 3

Domestic Law

Answer 3

Chambliss - acts defined by law as criminal & commited by state officials as reps of the state
but states have power to make laws to avoid crim actions - Nazi law permitting forced sterilisation of disabled ppl

Question 4

Social Harm & Zemiology

Answer 4

Michalowski (1985) state crimes include illegal acts & legally permissable acts where consequens = sim to those of illegal acts
Hillyard (2004) replaces study of crime w/ zemiology regardless of if against law
creates single standard to judge dif govs by - harm = vague - what level must be reached? = too wide - who decides? - replaces w/ socios arbitrary defi that = hard to police

Question 5

Labelling & Social Reaction

Answer 5

recogs state crime = soc construc
Kauzlarich (2007) study of anti war protesters - war in Iraq = harmful & illegit but X crime
recogs soc construc but = v vague & not v useful in trying to determine if state has committed crime - ignores that auds defis may be manipulated by RC ideo - media portrayal

Question 6

International Law

Answer 6

Rothe & Mullims (2003) = acts by / for state that violates internat law &/ own dom law - breaking Geneva conven on war crimes
doesn’t depend on socios own defi = m obj
but internat law = soc construc made by those in power eg Strand & Tuman (2012) Japan sought to overturn law against whaling by concen aid on impov microstates as bribe

Question 7

Human Rights

Answer 7

UN Dec of HR 1948 - Schwendinger (1975) state crime should be defined as violation of ppls basic human rights by state / agents
Cohen (1996) just bc something morally wrong X mean = crim - no definitive list - hard to defi what = violation - but Cohen admits states often to try to deny/cover up breaking HR = 2 ways

Question 8

Why is State Crime so Serious?

Answer 8

carried out on large scale - Cambodia 1975-78 2 mil civs - 20% of pop = killed by Khmer Rouge gov
state = source of law -

Question 9

Spiral of Denial

Answer 9

= 3 step process
states deny HR abuses ever happened - m likely in dicta
someone proves happened - state claimed things aren’t as seem
proven things are as appear - state claim = justi

Question 10

Neutralisation Theory

Answer 10

Sykes & Matza (1957) = 5 ways devs try to make actions seen reasonable = neut - cohen agrees
denial of injury = fighting back - others started
vic of crim abuse X vic = violent & behav = worse than states behav
condem of condemer - crit = unfair - states have commited worse crimes
appeal to higher loyalties = bigger reason than just personal gain
denial of respon - acting on odds of someone else / doing duty