Globalisation, green crime, human rights and state crime

What is globalisation?

Increasing interconnectedness of societies e.g., spread of ICT, mass media, cheap air travel

What did Held et al say about global criminal economy?

Globalisation of crime (interconnectedness of crime across national borders) brought the spread of transnational organised crime.

Globalisation creates new opportunities for crime, means of committing and new offences e.g. cyber.

What did Castells (1998) say the global crim economy was worth?

Over £1 trillion per annum

What are the different forms of global crim economy Castells identified?

• Arms trafficking to illegal groups.

• Trafficking in nuclear materials especially from former communist countries.

• Smuggling illegal immigrants e.g. Chinese Triads make estimated $2.5 billion annually.

• Trafficking women and children. Up to half a million are trafficked to Western Europe annually.

• Sex tourism – westerners travel to third world countries for sex.

• Trafficking body parts. Estimated 2000 organs annually taken by criminals in China.

• Cyber crime e.g. identity theft.

• Green crimes e.g. illegal dumping of waste.

• International terrorism. Now based on links with internet.

• Smuggling legal goods like alcohol, tobacco and cars.

• Trafficking endangered species or their body parts.

• Drug trade worth estimated $300-400 billion annually.

• Money laundering of profits of organised crime estimated at $1.5 trillion per year.

What are the two sides for products and services?

Demand side in West and supply side that provides source of drugs, sex workers and other goods. Supply is linked to globalisation process.

E.g. Columbia and Peru have large populations of peasants that use drug cultivation as it requires little investment and commands high prices. It is estimated that 20% of Columbian population depends on cocaine production for livelihood

What is global risk consciousness?

Globalisation creates risk consciousness where risk is seen as global rather than tied to specific places.

E.g. increased movement of people as migrants seek work or flee prosecution has risen anxieties among populations in the west about the risk of crime and need to protect borders.

Where does knowledge about risks come from?

The media which exaggerates dangers.

With immigration, the media creates moral panic about ‘threat’ fuelled by politicians. Negative coverage on immigrants shows them as terrorist or scroungers flooding the country led to hate crimes against minorities.

What did the medias negative coverage lead to in the UK?

Intensification of social control. UK toughened border control and regulations.

E.g. fining airlines if bring undocumented passengers and no limits on how long a person may be held in immigration detention. Other European countries introduced fences, CCTV, thermal imaging.

What did socialist Taylor (1997) find about globalisation capitalism and crime?

Globalisation led to changes in pattern and extent of crime.

By giving free reign to market forces it created greater inequality and increased crime

How does globalisation cause poverty and unemployment (Taylor)?

Globalisation created crime allowed TNCs to switch manufacturing to low wage countries (Shell) producing unemployment and poverty

What does deregulation mean (Taylor)?

Gov has little control over own economies e.g. to create jobs and raise tax.

Marketisation encouraged people to see themselves as individual consumers which undermines social cohesion.

What does deregulation lead to (Taylor)?

Insecurity and inequality that encourages people to turn to crime. E.g. drug trade. In LA, deindustrialisation = drug gangs numbering 10,000 members

What else does globalisation create (Taylor)?

Criminal opportunity for elite groups.

Deregulation of financial markets created opportunity for insider trading and moving funds around globe to avoid tax.

Creation of European union offered opportunity for fraud estimated at $7 billion per annum

Why is Taylor criticised?

Taylor doesn’t adequately explain how changes make ppl behave criminally as not all poor turn to crime

What did Rothe and Friedrichs (2015) find about crimes of globalisation?

• These organisations such as IMF and world bank dominated by capitalist states.

• These bodies impose pro-capitalist, neoliberal economic structural adjustment programmes on poor countries as condition for loan they provide. Often require cut spending on health and education and privatising public services like water supply.

• This allows western corporations to expand but creates conditions for crime.

What did Rothe et al (2008) find about crimes of globalisation?

The programme imposed on Rwanda in 1980s caused mass unemployment and created economic bias for 1994 genocide.

What did Hobbs and Dunningham find about patterns of criminal organisations?

The way crime is organised is linked to economic changes from globalisation.
Involves individuals with contacts acting as hub where a network forms linking illegitimate and legitimate activities. This contrasts Mafia style criminal organisations of past.

What are glocal organisations?

Organisations with international links especially with drug trade. Crime still rooted in local context.

Individuals still need local contacts and networks to find opportunities to sell drugs.

What did Hobbs and Dunningham conclude about glocal crime?

Crime works as glocal system as still locally based but with global connections. Form varies from place to place according to local conditions.

They argue changes with globalisation = changing patterns of crime. Shift from rigid gang structure to loose networks.

Why are Hobbs and Dunningham criticised?

Not clear that old structures have disappeared. It may be that they co-existed.

What did Glenny (2008) say the McMafia was?

Organisations that emerged in Russia and eastern Europe after fall of communism

What happened to prices after communism collapsed?

Under communism, they regulated prices of everything. When it fell the Russian gov deregulated most sectors of economy except for natural resources which remained at old soviet price

What could ppl with access to funds (KGB) do?

Buy oil, gas, diamonds or metals for cheap and sell them abroad for lots of money.
They became the new capitalist class referred to as oligarchs.

Who did these new capitalists turn to?

To protect their wealth capitalists turned to mafias who were often alliances between KGB men and ex-convicts

Who were apart of this mafia?

These mafias were based on ethnic and family ties with clear hierarchy. Purely economic organisation formed to pursue self-interest.

Who was the Chechen mafia?

(Most ruthless) originated in Chechnya but began to franchise to other groups. Chechen mafia became the brand name that they sold to protection rackets in other towns

What did the mafia allow billionaires to do?

These organisations allowed billionaires to protect their wealth and Russian mafias could build links with other criminal organisations.

They got away with trade by hurling women into the sea so police have to save them from drowning and not catch the smugglers.

What is green crime?

Crime against the environment, can be linked to globalisation as threat to eco-system are global not local e.g. atmospheric pollution from one country can turn into acidic rain that falls into another.

What did Beck (1992) say about global risk to society and the environment?

In todays society we can provide adequate resources for all. However, massive increase in productivity and technology that sustains it has created manufactured risks – dangers that we have never faced.

Many involve harm to environment and consequences for humanity like global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions from industry.
Many risks are global rather than local – global risk society

What was the Bhopal disaster?

2^nd December 1984, the US owned Union Carbide pesticide plant started leaking cyanide gas.
All 6 safety systems failed to operate and 30 tons of gas spread through the city.
Crimes include: breach of safety legislation, failure to follow maintenance.

What were the consequences of the Bhopal disaster?

• Half a million people were exposed and estimated that over 20,000 died. Union Carbide only acknowledges 3800 deaths and claims explosion caused by sabotage.

• 12,000 still suffer effects: blindness, cancer, breathing difficulty, birth defects.

• One survivor said the lucky ones are the ones who died on that night.

• Heavy metals have been found in breast milk of women nearby.

• 15 years later, local groundwater contained up to 6 million times more mercury than normal. The site was never cleaned and no one faced criminal court.

What are the two types of criminology?

Traditional and green

What is traditional criminology?

Looks at criminal law and says pollution causing global warming hasn’t broken a law

What did Situ and Emmons (2000) find about traditional crim?

Environmental crime is unauthorised act that violates the law

Evaluate traditional crim

Advantage of this is it has clearly defined subject matter.

However, it accepts official definitions of environmental problems which are shaped by powerful groups to serve own interest.

What is green criminology according to White (2008)?

Proper subject of criminology is any action that harms physical environment and/or humans and animals within it, even if no law was broken

Has a wider scope so is form of transgressive criminology – oversteps boundaries of traditional crim to include new issues

How does green crim differ between countries?

Different countries have different laws so the same harmful action may be crime in one country but not another so legal definitions aren’t consistent, if it was consistent they could develop global perspective on environmental harm

What view is green crim similar to?

Marxist view that capitalist class are able to shape law and define crime, so their own activities aren’t crimes and green crim argue powerful interests are able to define own interests as what’s unacceptable environmental harm

What are the two views of harm?

1. TNCs adopt what White calls human centred view of environmental harm. View assumes humans have right to dominate nature for own ends and put economic growth over environment.

2. Whites ecocentric view that sees humans and environment as interdependent, environmental harm hurts humans. Adopted by green crim.

What is primary green crime?

Crimes that result directly from the destruction of earths resources

What are the 4 types of primary green crime South identifies?

1. Crime of air pollution

2. Crimes of deforestation

3. Crimes of species decline and animal abuse

4. Crimes of water pollution

What are crimes of air pollution?

Burning fossil fuels from industry adds 6 billion tons of carbon to atmosphere/year. Carbon emissions growing 2% every year.
Walters (2013): twice as many ppl die from air pollution induced breathing problems then 20 yrs ago. Criminals include govs, businesses and consumers

What are crimes of deforestation?

1960-90 1/5 of worlds rainforest destroyed.
In the andes, war on drugs led to pesticides spraying to kill coca and marijuana plants, this also killed food crops, contaminated drinking water and caused illness.
Criminals include the state and logging companies

What are crimes of species decline and animal abuse?

50 species a day become extinct, 46% mammal and 11% bird species at risk. 70-95% species live in rainforests which are under threat

What are crimes of water pollution?

Half a billion ppl lack drinking water and 25 million die annually from drinking contaminated water.
Marine pollution threatens 58% worlds ocean reefs and 34% fish. Criminals include businesses that dump toxic waste

What is secondary green crime?

Crime that grows out of disregarding rules to prevent environmental disasters

What are two examples of secondary green crime that South suggests?

1. State violence against oppositional groups

2. Hazardous waste and organised crime

What is state violence against oppositional groups?

States condemn terrorism but prepared to resort to similar methods themselves. 1985 the French secret service blew up the Greenpeace ship in new zealand killing a crew member. The ship was there to prevent a green crime from the French nuclear weapons testing in south pacific.

What are hazardous waste and organised crime?

1Disposal of toxic waste from industries is profitable as high costs of safe disposal.
28,500 rusting barrels of radioactive waste lie at the seabed of Channel Islands, reportedly dumped by UK corporations in 1950s.
Western businesses ship their waste to be processed in third world countries where costs are lower and safety standards don’t exist
e.g. Rosoff et al: cost of legitimately disposing toxic waste in US is $2500 a ton but some third world is $3 a ton

What is environmental discrimination (South 2014)?

The fact that poorer groups are worse affected by pollution e.g. black communities in USA our housed next to garbage dumps

What is an advantage of green crim?

Recognises growing importance of environmental issues and the need to address the harms and risks of environmental damage

What is a disadvantage of green crim?

Its hard to define the boundaries and study clearly as it focuses on broader concept of harms

How do Green and Ward define state crime?

Illegal or deviant activities perpetrated by or with state agencies

Give two reasons why state crimes are the most serious crimes

1. Scale of state crime – stats big power fives potential to inflict harm on lots of people. Green and Ward (2012): 262 million people murdered by govs during 20^th century.

2. State is source of the law – states role is to define what is criminal and prosecute offenders. However, this means they can conceal their own crimes by avoiding defining it as criminal. Principle of national sovereignty (states are supreme authority) makes it hard for UN to intervene.

What are McLaughlin (2012) 4 categories of state crime?

1. Political crime e.g. corruption.

2. Crimes by security and police e.g. genocide, torture.

3. Economic crimes e.g. violations of health and safety.

4. Social and cultural crimes e.g. institutional racism.

What does genocide mean?

Act committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group

Why did the Rwanda genocide happen?

• Rwanda was Belgian colony in 1922, they used Tutsi to mediate their role over Hutu majority.

• They weren’t separate ethnic groups, more like different social classes: Tutsi owned livestock and Hutus didn’t.

• Belgians ethnicised the two groups by giving them racial cards and educating the groups separately.

• Rwanda gained independence in 1962 and Hutus was elected to power. In 1990s there was a political and economic crisis = civil war where Hutu presidents plane was shot down in 1994.

What was the Rwanda genocide?

This triggered that in 100 days, 800,000 died, mainly Tutsi. They were slaughtered, dehumanised by being called rats. The Hutu civilians were told to join killing or be killed so 1/3 estimated to have participated

What are the two types of state-corporate crime Kramer and Michalowski (1993) found?

State-initiated and state-facilitated crime

Give an example of state-initiated crime?

The challenger space shuttle disaster 1986 - State (NASA) approved cost-cutting decision along with corporation Morton Thiokol led to explosion killing 7 astronauts 73 seconds after blast off

Give an example of state-facilitated crime

Deepwater horizon oil rig disaster in Gulf of Mexico 2010 –state failed to regulate and control corporate behaviour. The BP rig exploded and sank killing 11 workers and largest oil spill with major environmental and economic impacts. Official enquiry found decisions by companies involved caused disaster but gov regulators failed to oversee industry

What are the two types of war crimes?

Illegal wars and crimes committed during war or its aftermath

What are illegal war crimes?

In all cases other than self-defence, war can only be declared by UN security council.
Kramer and Michalowski: to justify USA invasion of Iraq in 2003 as self-defence, USA and UK knowingly made false claim that Iraqis possessed weapons of mass destruction

What are crimes committed during war or its aftermath?

Whyte (2014): USA neoliberal colonisation of Iraq where constitution was illegally changed so economy could be privatised.
In 2004 over $48 billion went to US firms. Poor oversight by occupying powers meant its unclear where much of this went and cost-plus contracts led to enormous waste

What did Kramer and Michalowski say about crimes during the Iraq war?

Other crimes were committed during Iraq war including torture of prisoners. Nine soldiers were convicted, the highest ranking being a staff sergeant

How does Chambliss (1989) define state crime (domestic law)?

Acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs.
However, ignores fact states have power to make laws so they can avoid criminalising own actions

What is social harms and zemiology?

Much harm done by state is not against the law

How does Michalowski define state crime (social harms and zemiology)?

Including not just illegal acts but legally permissible acts whose consequences are similar to those of illegal acts in harm they cause

What does Hillyard et al (2004) about zemiology?

We should take wider view of state wrongdoing and replace study of crime with zemiology – study of harms

What do critics say about zemiology?

Harms definition is vague. What level of harm must occur? Who decides what counts as harm?

What does labelling theory define state crime as?

Whether an act constitutes a crime depends on whether the social audience for that act defines it as a crime.

State crime is social construct and hat people regard as this varies over time and between cultures and groups

Why is labelling theories definition criticised?

Is vague.

Kauzlarich (2007): study of anti-iraq war protesters found while they saw the war as harmful, they weren’t willing to label it criminal.

Also unclear who is the relevant audience that decides whether a state crime has been committed and ignores the fact audiences’ definitions may be manipulated by ruling class ideology.

What is international law?

Law created through treaties and agreements between states

What do Rothe and Mulins define state crime as?

Any action by or on behalf of a state that violates international law and/or domestic law

What are advantages of Rothe and Mulins definition?

That it doesn’t depend on sociologists own personal definitions of harm or who the social audience is. It uses globally agreed definitions and designed for state crime

Why is Rothe and Mulins definition limited?

It’s a social construction involving use of power.
Strand and Truman (2012): Japan has sought to overturn the international ban on whaling by concentrating its foreign aid on microstates to bribe them to vote against ban.
Focuses on war crime and crimes against humanity rather than corruption.

What are human rights?

Natural rights from existence like right to life and free speech. Civil rights like right to vote, privacy and education

How does Schwendinger and Schwendinger (1975) define state crime?

Volation of ppls basic human rights by state or agents. Sociologists role should be to defend human rights even against state law.
Transgressive criminology – beyond traditional crim

What is an advantage of Schwendinger x2 definition?

Risse et al (1999): one advantage is all states care about human rights image as these rights are global social norms

Why is Schwendinger x2 definition limited?

Disagreements over what counts as human right, some wouldn’t include freedom from hunger

What is the authoritarian personality (Adorno et al 1950)?

Willingness to obey orders of superiors without question e.g. WW11 Germans had AP as disciplinarian socialisation patterns were common at time

Its often thought ppl who torture are psychopaths but Arendt (2006) study of Nazi Adolf Eichmann who was relatively normal.

What is state crime according to crimes of obedience?

Crime of conformity as require obedience

Research shows many ppl are willing to obey authority even when they have to harm others due to socialisation

What did Green and Ward (2012) find about crimes of obedience?

To overcome norms against use of cruelty, ppl who are torturous need to be resocialised. States create places where torture is practiced e.g. military segregated from society

What did Kelmen and Hamilton (1989) find about crimes of obedience?

During the My Lai massacre in Vietnam where American soldiers killed 400 civilians.

They identify three features producing crime as obedience:

1. Authorisation – acts approved by authority

2. Routinisation – once crime committed pressure to make act routine

3. Dehumanisation – enemy portrayed as subhuman, so morality doesn’t apply

Why does Bauman (1989) think modernity was a key feature causing the holocaust?

• Division of labour – individuals responsible for one small task so no one felt personally responsible.

• Bureaucratisation – killing normalised as repetitive = dehumanised.

• Instrumental rationality – rational methods to achieve goal.

• Science and tech – railways for transport and gas chambers.

Evaluate crimes of obedience

1. Not all genocides through organised division of labour to allow pps to distance from killing e.g. Rwandan genocide.

2. Ideological factors important e.g. Nazi ideology stressed Arian race to exclude minorities, so they didn’t need to be treated normally.

3. Racist ideology caused Holocaust as decade of anti-Semitic propaganda used.

What does Cohen (2006) say about the culture of denial?

States now make greater effort to justify human right crimes

What are Cohen’s three stage spiral of state denail?

1. ‘It didn’t happen’ but human rights organisations and media prove them otherwise.

2. ‘If it did happen, its something else’ e.g. self-defence not murder.

3. ‘Even if its what you say, its justified’

What are Sykes and Matza’s 5 neutralisation techniques delinquents use to justify their crimes?

1. Denial of victim e.g. they’re used to violence.

2. Denial of jury e.g. were the real victims.

3. Denial of responsibility e.g. obeying orders.

4. Condemning the condemners e.g. condemning bc of antisemitism.

5. Appeal to higher loyalty.