Topic 8 -Globalisation , Green Crime , Human Rights And State Crime

Question 1

What is meant by globalisation ?

Answer 1

Globalisation refers to the increasing interconnectedness of societies , so that what happens in one locality is shaped by distant events and vice versa

Question 2

What are some of the causes of globalisation ?

Answer 2

-the spread of new information and communication technologies (ICT)
-the influence of global mass media
-cheap air travel
-the deregulation of financial and other markets and their opening up to competition
-easier movements so that businesses can easily relocate to countries where profits will be greater

Question 3

What does Held et al believe there has been regarding crime and globalisation and what does this mean ?

Answer 3

-Held et al argues there has been a globalisation of crime - an increasing interconnectedness of crime across national borders
-the same process that has brought about the globalisation of legitimate activities has also brought about the spread of transnational organised crime
-globalisation creates new opportunities for crime , new means of committing crime and new offences such as various cyber crimes

Question 4

What does Castell believe has resulted from globalisation and how much is this worth ?

Answer 4

-as a result of globalisation , Castells argues there is now a global criminal economy worth over 1 trillion per annum which takes a number of forms

Question 5

What are some of the forms of castells global criminal economy ?

Answer 5

-trafficking in nuclear materials , especially from former communist countries
-smuggling of illegal immigrants
-trafficking in women and children , often linked to prostitution and slavery
-sex tourism , where westerners travel to third world countries for sex , sometimes involving minors
-trafficking in body parts , for organ transplants in rich countries
-cyber crimes , such as identity theft and child pornography
-green crimes , that damage the environment , such as illegal dumping of toxic waste in third world countries
-trafficking in endangered species , or their body parts for example to produce traditional remedies
-money laundering of the profits from organised crime

Question 6

What is meant by globalisation creates new insecurities and produce a new mentality of risk consciousness and an example of this ?

Answer 6

-globalisation creates new insecurities and produces a new mentality of risk consciences in which risk is seen as global rather than tied to particular places
-for example , the increased number of migrants seeking work or fleeing persecution has given rise to anxieties among populations about the risk of crime and disorder and therefore the need to protect their boundaries

Question 7

Why is it said that many of our fears about things shouldn’t be so worried ?

Answer 7

-much of our fears of certain things / people comes from the media , which gives us an exaggerated view of the dangers we face
-in the case of immigrants this leads to moral panics and therefore to hate crimes against these minorities

Question 8

What are examples of what countries such as the Uk are doing due to being more global risk conscious ?

Answer 8

-one result is the intensification of social control at national levels
-the Uk has toughened its border control regulations , for example by fining airlines if they bring in undocumented passengers
-similarly , the Uk has no legal limits on how long a person may be held in immigration detention

Question 9

What does socialist Taylor believe has happened as a result of globalisation ?

Answer 9

-Taylor argues that globalisation has led to changes in the pattern and extent of crime
, by giving free rein to market forces , globalisation has created greater inequality and rising crime

Question 10

What did Rothe and Friedrich look at to do with crime of globalisation and how did this lead to crime ?

Answer 10

-Rothe and Fredrich examine the role of international financial organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the world bank in what they class crimes of globalisation
-these organisations are dominated by the major capitalist states .
-for example , the world bank has 188 member countries yet just 5 hold over a third of the voting rights
-rothe and Fredrich argue that these bodies impose pro capitalist ,structural adjustment programmes on poor countries as a condition for the loans they provide
-these programmes often require governments to cut spending on health and education and to privatise publicly owned services such as water supply , industries and natural resources
-while this allows western countries to expand into these countries , it creates conditions for crime
-for example , Rothe et al show how programmes imposed on Rwanda in the 1980s caused mass unemployment and created the economic basis for the 1994 genocide (intentional destruction of groups of people )

Question 11

How do Hubbs and Dunningham find the way crime is organised is linked to globalisation

Answer 11

-Hobbs and Dunningham found that the way crime is organised is linked to the economic changes brought by globalisation
-it involves individuals with contacts acting as a hub around which loose knit network forms , composed of other individuals seeking opportunities , and often linking legitimate and illegitimate

Question 12

What do Hobbs and Dunningham mean by crime works as a glocal system and an example in the drug trade ?

Answer 12

-glocal system - still locally based , but with global connections
-for example , within the drug trade , individuals still need local contacts and networks to find opportunities and to sell their drugs but also influenced by global factor such as the availability of drugs from abroad

Question 13

What is another example of the relationship between criminal organisations and globalisation (put forward by Glenny) ?

Answer 13

-another example of the relationship between criminal organisations and globalisation is what Glenny class the Mcmafia

Question 14

Relationship between criminal organisations and globalisation -what does Glenny mean by the McMafia ?

Answer 14

-McMafia refers to the organisations that emerged in Russia and Eastern Europe following the fall of communism -itself a major factor in the process of globalisation
-Glenny traces the origins of transnational organised crime to the break up of the Soviet Union , which coincided with the deregulation of global markets
-under communism , the soviet state had regulated the prices of everything . However , following the fall of communism, the Russian government deregulated most sectors of the economy except for natural resources such as oil
-these commodities remained at their old soviet prices -often only fortieth of the world market price meaning anyone with the funds could buy oil , gas , diamonds for next to nothing , selling them abroad for profit
-meanwhile the collapse of the communist state heralded a period of increasing disorder , to protect their wealth capitalists turned to mafias that had begun to spring up
-these mafias were unlike the old Italian and American mafias , the new Russian mafias were purely economic organisations formed to pursue economic self interest
-the mafias were able to build links with the criminal organisations in other parts of the world

Question 15

What is meant by green / environmental crime ?

Answer 15

Green or environmental crime can be defined as crime against the environment
Much green crime can be linked to globalisation and the increasing interconnectedness of societies

Question 16

What does Beck mean by a global risk society ?

Answer 16

-many of the risks we face in a late modern society are dangers we have never faced before
-many of these risks involve harm to the environment and the consequences for humanity such as global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions from the industry
-like climate change , many of these risks are global rather than local in nature
-leading Beck to describe late modern society a global risk society

Question 17

Explain the example of how the global nature of human made risk a produce crime and disorder in the example of Mozambique in 2010 (global risk society ) ?

Answer 17

-the story starts thousands of miles away , in Russia where global warming triggered the hottest heatwave in a century ,causing wildfires that destroyed part of the country’s grain belt
-the resulting shortage led Russia to introduce export bans and pushed up the world price of the grain
-the knock on effect in Mozambique , which is heavily dependent on food imports , was a 30% rise in the price of bread
-this sparked extensive rioting and looting of food stores that left at least a dozen dead
-Mozambiques own harvest had been hit by drought , possibly also as a result of global warming

Question 18

What view of harm does White take and what does this mean ?

Answer 18

-white takes an anthropocentric or human centred view of environmental harm
-this view assumes that humans have a right to dominate nature for their own needs and put economic growth before the environment

Question 19

What is another view of harm , that white contrasts with the anthropocentric or human centred view of harm ?

Answer 19

-the ecocentric view that sees humans and their environment as interdependent , so that environmental harm hurts humans also
-this view sees both humans and the environment as liable to exploitation

Question 20

What are the 2 types of crime that South classifies green crime into ?

Answer 20

-primary green crimes
-secondary greens crimes

Question 21

South - types of green crimes - what is primary green crime ?

Answer 21

-primary green crime - crimes that result directly from the destruction and degradation of the earths resources

Question 22

South - types of green crimes - what is Secondary green crime ?

Answer 22

-secondary green crime - crime that grows out of the flouting of the rules aimed at preventing or regulating environmental disaster
-for example , governments often break their own regulations and cause environmental harm

Question 23

What are the 4 main types of primary green crime identified by South ?

Answer 23

-crimes of air pollution
-crimes of deforestation
-crimes of species decline and animal abuse
-crimes of water pollution

Question 24

What are the 2 main examples of secondary green crimes identified by South ?

Answer 24

-state violence against oppositional groups
-hazardous waste and organised crime

Question 25

South - types of primary green crime - crimes of air pollution ?

Answer 25

-crimes of air pollution -burning fossil fuels from industry and transport adds 6 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year and carbon emissions are growing at around 2% per annum , contributing to global warming -the potential criminals are governments , businesses and consumers

Question 27

South - types of primary green crime - Crimes of deforestation ?

Answer 27

Crimes of deforestation - between 1960 and 1990 , one fifth of the world’s tropical rainforest was destroyed , for example through illegal logging -in the amazon , the forest has been cleared to rear beef cattle for export -in the Andes , the war on drugs has led to pesticide spraying to kill coca and marijuana plants , but this has created a new green crime , destroying food crops , contaminating drinking water and causing illness -the criminals include the state and those who profit from forest destruction such as logging companies and cattle ranchers

Question 28

South - types of primary green crimes - crimes of species decline and animal abuse ?

Answer 28

-crimes of species decline and animal abuse - 50 species a day are becoming extinct , and 46% of mammal and 11% of bird species are at risk -70-95% of earths species live in the rainforests ,which are under severe threat -there is trafficking in animals and animal parts -meanwhile , old crimes such as dog fights and badger baiting are on the increase

Question 29

South - types of primary green crime - crimes of water pollution ?

Answer 29

-crimes of water pollution - half a billon people lack access to clean drinking water and 25 million people die annually from drinking contaminated water -marine pollution threatens 58% of the worlds ocean reefs and 34% of its fish -the deepwater horizon spill caused massive harm to marine life and coasts -criminals include businesses that dump toxic waste and governments that discharge untreated sewage into rivers and seas

Question 30

South - types of secondary green crimes - state violence against oppositional groups ?

Answer 30

-state violence against oppositional groups - states condemn terrorism , but they have been prepared to resort to similar illegal methods themselves -for example , in 1985 , the French secret service blew up the green-peace ship , New Zealand killing one crew member -the vessel was there in an attempt to prevent a green crime , french nuclear weapons testing in the South Pacific

Question 31

South - types of secondary greens crimes - hazardous waste and organised crime ?

Answer 31

-hazardous waste and organised crime - disposal of toxic waste from the chemical , nuclear and other industries is highly profitable -because of the high costs of safe and legal disposal , businesses may seek to dispose of such waste illegally -for example , in Italy eco mafias profit from illegal dumping , much of it at sea -western countries often ship their waste to be processed in third world countries where costs are lower and safety standards are non existent causing further damage to other countries

Question 32

What term does South use to describe how poorer countries are worse affected by pollution and explain this ?

Answer 32

-environmental discrimination -describes the fact that poorer groups are worse affected by pollution. -for example , black communities in the USA , often find their housing situated next to garbage dumps or polluting industries

Question 33

What do Green and Ward define state crime as ?

Answer 33

-Green and Ward define state crime as “illegal or deviant activities perpetrated by, or with the complicity of , state agencies “ -it includes all forms of crime committed by or on behalf of states and governments in order to further their policies

Question 34

What are the 2 reasons that state crime is the most serious form of crime ?

Answer 34

1.The scale of state crime 2.The state is the Source of Law

Question 35

Why state crime is the most serious crime - scale of state crime - what did Green and Ward find that backs this up ?

Answer 35

-the states enormous power gives sit the potential to inflict harm on a huge scale -for example , Green and Ward cite a figure of 262 million people murdered by governments during the 20th century

Question 36

Why state crime is the most serious crime - the state is the source of the law - what does this mean and how does it benefit the state ?

Answer 36

-it is the states role to define what is criminal , uphold the law and prosecute offenders -however , it’s power means that it can conceal its crimes , evade punishment for them , and even avoid defining its own actions as criminal in the first place -states of all kinds , including democracies such as Britain and the USA have been guilty of crimes , but the principle of national sovereignty- that states are the supreme authority with their own borders - makes it difficult for external authorities such as as the United States to intervene

Question 37

What are the 4 categories of state crime that McLaughlin identifies ?

Answer 37

1.Political crimes - eg corruption and censorship 2.Crimes by security and police forces - such as genocide , torture 3.Economic crimes - eg official violations of health and safety laws 4.Social and cultural crimes - such as institutional racism

Question 38

State crime - Genocide in Rwanda ?

Answer 38

-Rwanda became a Belgian colony in 1922 and the Belgians used the minority Tutsi to mediate their rule over the Hutu Majority -But Hutus and Tutsis were not separate ethnic groups - they spoke the same language and often intermarried , they were more like social classes -Tutsis owned livestock and the Hutus didn’t , Hutus could become Tutsis if they could afford to buy cattle but they were separate -Rwanda gained independence in 1962 and elections brought the majority Hutus to power -by the 1990s , an escalating economic and political crisis , led to civil war , with Hutu hardliners in the government attempting to cling on to power by fuelling race hate propaganda against the Tutsis -the shooting down of the Hutu presidents plan in 1994 triggered the genocide -in a hundred days , 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered ,legitimated with dehumanising labels describing Tutsis as cockroaches and rats -later on many Hutu civilians were either forced to join in the killing or be killed themselves

Question 39

What do Kramer and Michalowski distinguish between when looking at state corporate crime ?

Answer 39

-state initiated corporate crime -state facilitated corporate crime

Question 40

An example of state initiated corporate crime and explain it (use Kramer )?

Answer 40

-the challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986 is an example of state initiated corporate crime -this occurs when states initiate , direct , or approve corporate crimes -in the case of challenger , negligent and cost cutting decisions by the state agency NASA led to the explosion that killed 7 astronauts , only 73 seconds after blast off (Kramer)

Question 41

An example of state facilitated corporate crime and explain it ?

Answer 41

-the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 , is an example of state facilitated corporate crime -this occurs hen the state fail to regulate and control corporate behaviour , meaning crime easier -the rig , leased by BP ,exploded and sank , killing 11 workers and causing the largest accidental oil spill in history , with major health , environmental and economic impacts -the official enquiry found that while the disaster resulted from decisions by the companies involved such as BP , government regulators had failed to oversee the industry adequately or to notice the companies cost cutting decisions

Question 42

What are the 2 kind of war related crimes we can refer to ?

Answer 42

-illegal wars -crimes committed during war and its aftermath

Question 43

What are the 5 ways in which we can define state crime ?

Answer 43

-Domestic Law -social harms and Zemioogy -Labelling and Societal reaction -international law -Human rights

Question 44

Defining state crime - domestic law- what does Chambliss define state crime as ?

Answer 44

-Chambliss defines state crime as “acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as representatives of the state “

Question 45

Defining state crime - domestic law - what are the problems with using the states own domestic law to define state crime ?

Answer 45

-using the states own domestic law to define state crime is inadequate -it ignores the fact that states have the power to make laws and so they can avoid criminalising their own actions -furthermore , they can make laws allowing them to carry out harmful acts -for example , the German Nazi state passed a law permitting it to be compulsory to sterilise the disabled -this definition also leads to inconsistencies -for example , the act may be illegal on one side of the border but legal on the other side

Question 46

Defining state crime - social harms and zemiology - what does Michalowski define state crime as ?

Answer 46

-this recognises that much of the harm done by the state is not against the law -Michalowski therefore defines state crime as including not just illegal acts , but also "legally permissible acts whose consequences are similar to those of illegal acts " in the harm they cause

Question 47

Defining state crime - Social harms and Zemiology - what does Hillyard et al believe we should look at when looking at state crime ?

Answer 47

-Hillyard et al , argues that we should take a much wider view of state wrongdoing -we should replace the study of crimes with Zemiology - the study of harms , whether or not they are against the law -for example , these harms would include state facilitated poverty

Question 48

Defining state crimes - social harms and zemiology - evaluation positives ?

Answer 48

-this definition prevents states from ruling themselves "out of court" by making laws that allow them to misbehave -it also creates a single standard that can be applied to different states to identify which ones are being the most harmful to human or environmental wellbeing

Question 49

Defining state crimes - social harms and Zemiology - evaluation negatives ?

Answer 49

-Critics argue that a "harms" definition is too vague ; -what level of harm must occur before an act is defined as a crime ? there is a danger that it makes the field of study too wide -who decides what counts as harm ? this just replaces the states definition of crime with the sociologists definition of harm

Question 50

defining state crimes - labelling and societal reaction - what does the labelling theory look at when deciding if something is a crime ?

Answer 50

-the labelling theory argues that whether an act constitutes a crime depends on whether the social audience for that act defines it as a crime -the audience may witness the act either directly or indirectly , for example through media reports

Question 51

Defining state crimes - labelling and societal reaction - evaluation - positives of this definition ?

Answer 51

-this definition recognises that state crime is socially constructed , and so what people regard as a state crime can vary over time and between cultures or groups -this also prevents the sociologist from imposing their own definitions of state crime when this may not be how the participants define the situation

Question 52

Defining state crime - labelling and societal reaction - evaluation - negatives include Kauzlarichs study ?

Answer 52

-this definition is even vaguer than social harms -for example , Kauzlarichs study of anti Iraq war protestors found that while they saw the war as harmful and illegitimate , they were unwilling to label it criminal , by contrast from a harms perspective , it can be seen as illegal -it is also unclear who is supposed to be the relevant audience that decides whether a state crime has been committed or what to do if different audiences reach different verdicts about an act -Marxists - it also ignores the fact that audiences definitions may be manipulated by the ruling class ideology . For example , the media may persuade the public to see war as legitimate rather than criminal

Question 53

Defining state crime - international law - what is meant by international law and what do Rothe and Mullins define it as ?

Answer 53

-some sociologists base their definition of state crime on international law - that is , law created through agreements by states -for example , Rothe and Mullins define state crime as any action on behalf of a state that violates international law and/or a states own domestic law

Question 54

Defining state crime - international law - evaluation - positives ?

Answer 54

-the advantage of this is that it doesn’t depend on the sociologists own personal definitions of harm or who the relevant social audience is -instead it uses globally agreed definitions of state crime -international law also has the advantage of being intentionally designed to deal with state crime , unlike most domestic law

Question 55

Defining state crime - international law - evaluation - negatives include Strand and Tuman study ?

Answer 55

-however , like the laws made by individual states , international law is a social construction involving the use of power -for example , Strand and Tuman found that Japan has sought to overturn the international ban on whaling by concentrating its foreign aid on impoverished microstates , to bribe them to vote against the ban -another limitation is that international law focuses largely on war crimes and crimes against humanity , rather than other states crimes such as corruption

Question 56

Defining state crime - human rights - what are the 2 parts of human rights and what do they mean ?

Answer 56

-some sociologists use human rights as a way of defining state crime , human rights include ; -natural rights , that people have simply by the virtue of existing , such as the right to life , liberty and free speech -civil rights , such as the right to vote , to privacy , to a fair trial , or to an education

Question 57

Defining state crime - human rights - what do Herman and Schwendinger believe we should define state crime as ?

Answer 57

-Herman and Schwendinger argue that we should define state crime as the violation of peoples basic human rights by the state or its agents -states that practise racism , sexism , economic exploitation are committing crimes because they are denying people their basic rights

Question 58

Defining state crime - human rights - evaluation - negatives of human rights as a definition of state crime ?

Answer 58

-while gross violations of human rights such as torture are clearly crimes , other acts such as economic exploitation are not self evidently criminal even if we do find them morally unacceptable -there is also disagreement about what counts as a human rights , while most would include life and liberty some would not include freedom from hunger

Question 59

3 ways to explain state crime ?

Answer 59

-the authoritarian personality -crimes of obedience -modernity

Question 60

Explaining state crime - how does Adorno et als authoritarian personality explain state crime ?

Answer 60

-Adorno et al identifies an authoritarian personality that includes the willingness to obey the orders of superiors without a question -they argue at the time of the Second World War , many Germans had authoritarian personality types due to socialisation patterns at the time

Question 61

Explaining state crime - crimes of obedience -what is the different between normal crime and state crime ?

Answer 61

-normal crime is defined as deviance from social norms -however , state crimes are crimes of conformity , since they require obedience to a higher authority - the state or its representatives -for example , in a corrupt police unit , the officer who accepts bribes in conforming to the units norms while at the same time breaking the law , conforming to one norm means deviating from the other

Question 62

Explaining state crime - crimes of obedience- what does research find many people will do and why is this ?

Answer 62

-research suggests that many people are willing to obey authority even when this involves harming others -sociologists argue that such actions are part of a role in which individuals are socialised

Question 63

Explaining state crime - crimes of obedience - what did Green and Ward find in their study ?

Answer 63

-according to Green and Ward , in order to overcome norms against the use of cruelty , individuals who become torturers often need to be re socialised , trained and exposed to propaganda about the enemy -states also frequently create “enclaves of barbarism” where torture is practised such as military bases , segregated from outside society -this allows the torturer to regard it as a normal 9-5 job , to which he can return to normal everyday life

Question 64

Explaining state crime - crimes of obedience - what were the 3 features that Kelman and Hamilton identified which produce crime of obedience in their study of a massacre in Vietnam where Americans soldiers killed 400 civilians ?

Answer 64

1.Authorisation -when acts are ordered or approved by those in authority , normal moral principles are replaced by the duty to obey 2.Routinisation -once the crime has been committed , there is a strong pressure to turn the act into a routine that individuals can perform in a detached manner 3.Dehumanisation- when the enemy is portrayed as sub human , normal principles of morality do not apply

Question 65

Explaining state crime - modernity - what are the 4 features of modern society that Bauman believes made the holocaust possible ?

Answer 65

1.A division of labour - each person was responsible for just one small task , so no one felt personally responsible for the atrocity 2.Bureaucratisation - normalised the killing by making it repetitive , rule governed and a routine job , it also meant that the victims could be dehumanised as mere “units” 3.instrumental rationality - where rational , efficient methods are used to achieve a goal , regardless of what the goal is , in the holocaust the goal was murder 4.Science and technology - from the railways transporting victims to death camps , to industrially produced gas used to kill them

Question 66

Evaluation of modernity as explaining state crime ?

Answer 66

-not all genocides current through a highly organised division of labour that allows participants to distance themselves from the killing -while the modern , rational division of labour may have the supplied the means for the holocaust, it was the racist ideology that supplied the motivation to carry it out

Question 67

What are the 3 stages of the culture of denial according to Cohen ?

Answer 67

1. Stage 1 - it didn’t happen eg the state claims there was no massacre , but the human rights organisations , victims and the media show it did happen eg here are the graves , we have the photos 2.Stage 2 - if it did happen , “it” is something else eg the state say it was self defence , not murder 3.Stage 3 - even if it is what you say it is , its justified

Question 68

The culture of denial according- what does cohen mean by techniques of neutralisation ?

Answer 68

Cohen examines the ways in which the state deny or justify their crimes , he draws on the work of Sykes and Matza who identify 5 neutralisation techniques that delinquents use to justify their deviant behaviour

Question 69

What are the 5 techniques of neutralisation that Sykes and Matza identify that delinquents use to justify their behaviour ?

Answer 69

1.denial of victim 2.denial of injury 3.denial of responsibility 4.condemning the condemners 5.appeal to higher loyalty

Question 70

Sykes and Matza techniques of neutralisation - denial of victim ?

Answer 70

Denial of victim - they exaggerate , they are terrorists , they are used to violence , look at what they do to each other

Question 71

Sykes and Matza techniques of neutralisation - denial of injury ?

Answer 71

-denial of injury - we are the real victims , not them

Question 72

Sykes and Matza techniques of neutralisation - Denial of responsibility?

Answer 72

-denial of responsibility - i was only obeying orders , doing my duty . This justification is often used by individual policemen, death camp guards etc

Question 73

Sykes and Matza techniques of neutralisation - condemning the condemners ?

Answer 73

-condemning the condemners - they are condemning us only because of their racism

Question 74

Sykes and Matza techniques of neutralisation - appeal to higher loyalty ?

Answer 74

-appeal to higher loyalty - self righteous justifications that Claim to be serving a higher cause.