State Crime, War Crimes & Genocide

What three themes run through transgressive criminology?

Power, harm and the interconnectedness of the modern world.

What did Chambliss mean by "state-organised crime"?

Crime planned and carried out by governments within their own borders to further their political agenda.

How do Green and Ward define state crime?

Illegal or deviant activities committed by, or with the complicity of, state agencies.

What does "complicity" mean in state crime?

A state knowingly allows or supports criminal activity because it furthers its agenda.

Does an individual state employee committing a crime count as state crime?

No. It must be connected to state power or policy; e.g. a police officer taking a personal bribe is not state crime.

Why is state crime important to Marxists?

Marxists argue the state often serves ruling-class interests, so state crime reveals how power can be used to protect those interests.

What are war crimes?

Illegal acts committed during war by individuals, groups or governments and punishable under international law.

What are examples of war crimes?

Attacking civilians, torturing prisoners, taking hostages, using human shields, using child soldiers and settling occupied territory.

Why were the Nuremberg Trials significant?

Nazi officials were prosecuted for war crimes, establishing that "I was only following orders" was not an acceptable defence.

What happened to Slobodan Milošević?

He was tried for war crimes but died in custody in 2006 before a final judgment was reached.

What happened to Saddam Hussein after the Iraq invasion?

He was tried and executed for war crimes, including the gassing of Kurdish people within Iraq.

Why is the definition of war crime controversial?

Powerful states may avoid being labelled as war criminals despite causing major civilian harm, suggesting international justice can be selective.

What examples are used to show the selective classification of war crimes?

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombing of Dresden and the Iraq War are used as examples of actions causing major civilian harm without equivalent classification.

What is genocide?

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

Why is "systematic" important in the definition of genocide?

It shows genocide is organised and planned rather than random or spontaneous violence.

What is the Holocaust?

The Nazi genocide of Jews and other targeted groups during the Second World War.

What happened during the Rwandan genocide?

Approximately 937,000 Tutsis were murdered by Hutus in an act of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

What happened in Darfur according to the source?

Arab militants targeted around 80 Black African groups, causing an estimated 2 million deaths and 4 million people to be displaced.

How did Cohen explain how governments justify state crime?

He applied Sykes and Matza's techniques of neutralisation to show how governments justify harmful actions.

What is denial of the victim?

Claiming that victims deserved what happened to them.

What is denial of injury?

Claiming that no real harm occurred or that the action was necessary for self-defence.

What is denial of responsibility?

Claiming that individuals were not responsible because they were following orders or had no choice.

What is condemning the condemners?

Attacking critics by claiming they are hypocritical, corrupt or guilty of similar behaviour.

What is appeal to higher loyalties?

Claiming that harmful actions are justified because they serve a greater cause, such as national security.

What did Kelman and Hamilton study?

They examined how modern social conditions can produce atrocities, using the My Lai Massacre as an example.

What was the My Lai Massacre?

An incident during the Vietnam War in which US soldiers killed around 400 Vietnamese civilians.

What are Kelman and Hamilton's three features of "crimes of obedience"?

Authorisation, routinisation and dehumanisation.

What is authorisation?

People commit harmful acts because they are ordered to do so by an authority figure, even when it conflicts with their conscience.

What did Milgram's obedience experiments demonstrate?

People can be strongly influenced by authority figures and may obey orders that conflict with their moral beliefs.

What is routinisation?

Repeated harmful actions become routine, reducing the individual's awareness of their moral significance.

What example illustrates routinisation?

Waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay is used as an example of harmful treatment becoming a repeated and routine organisational procedure.

What is dehumanisation?

Treating victims as less than human, making it psychologically easier for perpetrators to harm them.

How were Holocaust victims dehumanised?

Their hair was shaved, possessions removed and names replaced with numbers, encouraging perpetrators to view them as objects rather than individuals.

What did Bauman argue about modernity and the Holocaust?

Modern features such as science, technology and the division of labour helped make large-scale, organised atrocities possible.

How did the division of labour contribute to state crime according to Bauman?

Responsibility was divided between many people, making individuals feel less personally responsible for the overall harm.

How does Bauman challenge the idea that atrocities are caused by "evil individuals"?

He argues modern organisations and bureaucracies can make ordinary people participate in mass atrocities through routine, rationalised processes.