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  • Writer's pictureCultofSoc

Globalisation and crime

Updated: Jun 11, 2023

Topic Summary 💜


Globalisation and crime = 10 marker

NO 30 MARKER AS OF YET!

Globalisation – increased interconnectedness of a ‘shrinking’ world (Cohen and Kennedy)

Global Village (McLuhan) – contact, communication, and movement

3 main types of globalisation (Giddens)

1. Cultural (incs. Movement of people)

2. Political

3. Economic

Movement of people and products has increased significantly with the development of globalisation.

GLOBAL CRIMES – state crimes, green crimes, cyber crimes, trafficking – people, drugs, animals, organ, weapons. Black market, dark web. War crimes

Globalisation has increased crime because of the connectivity and ease. More resources, easier movement and more cyber crime (especially because we are more online than ever before!)


HYPER GLOBALISTS

GLOBAL PESSIMISTS

Positive about globalisation

- Cultural hybridity (combination of multiple cultures)

- More education about global issues

- Growth of e-commerce (Amazon, Shein etc)

- Politics – make more education decisions

- Provides more jobs

- Increase in trade

- Migration opportunities

- Communication

- Refuge

Negative about globalisation

- Drug trade

- Terrorism

- Fraud

- Cyber Crime

- Trafficking – weapons, drugs, animals, organs and people

- Laundering of money

- Pollution

- Westernisation

- Inflation

- Gang Crime

- Destruction of small businesses

- Wars


 

STATE CRIME

“illegal and deviant activities perpetrated by, or with the complicity of state agencies” (Green and Ward)

Government, armies, police or those in charge of the country.

Genocides, torture, imprisonment without trial, war crimes, assassinations etc.

“Great power and great crimes are inseparable” (Michalowski and Kramer)

McLaughlin –

1. Political Crimes

2. Crimes by security/police forces

3. Economic Crimes

4. Social/Cultural Crimes (persecution of women, ethnicities or sexualities)

Business and trade with other countries means crime is easier to commit, powerful states (Russia, China, US)

Cohen – Spiral of denial – when a state crime is committed this is the process they go through…

1. It didn’t happen!! DENIAL. Plead innocence

2. If it did happen, it’s not what it looks like!! CHANGING THE DIALOGUE.

3. If it did happen it was because of [X] or [Y]…we needed to protect our society, or it was necessary for discussions or it was needed to protect the citizens. JUSTIFICATION.

Otto Warmbier -North Korea, taking images of propaganda when he was arrested and tortured. US fought for his release, he was released with significant injuries – died when returned home.


Matza and Sykes – NEUTRALISATION THEORY

1. Denial of victims (attempting to take away victim status)

2. Denial of injuries (avoiding blame or involvement)

3. Denial of responsibilities

4. Appealing to a higher power

Victimhood with State Crime – Kelman and Hamilton

CRIMES OF OBDIENCE – it’s as a result of a role they are socialised into. Trained, encouraged and even celebrated

The idea of sanctioned systematic mass violence

Bauman – Modernity and the Holocaust

The social conditions that led to the holocaust could very easily happen again.

Three conditions in place when state crime or mass violence perpetrated by the powerful:

1. Authority (someone with authority gives the orders)

Chain of command – if someone orders a kill you are not responsible because you are acting on a command.

2. Routinisation (being routine, normalised and therefore we are desensitised)

3. Dehumanisation

A) Distance – not seeing the suffering first hand, guns add to this element

B) Labels – removing the humanity, this could by calling them a different name, likening them to animals or assigning numbers

Case studies –

1. Rwandan Genocide

2. Dictators – Mugabe, Stalin, Hitler etc

3. Taliban


 

Human Rights

(USE ALL STATE CRIME THEORISTS AND CONCEPTS)

H&J Schwendinger – there needs to be more acknowledgement of human rights infractions, real repercussions, and discussions when they occur – at present, the people in powerful positions (i.e state, army, police etc) use their power to allow/disallow these crimes.

Natural Rights – rights for being alive (food, water, housing, life)

Civil Rights – governmental rights (right to vote, to marry etc)

Human Rights Act 1989

Right to life, right to a fair trial, right to marry, right to freedom of speech and protest, right to education

Case Studies –

Otto Warmbier

Malala Yousafzi

Modern Slavery Act 2015

Aiya Napa – unfairly treated victim of sexual assault


 

Green Crime

Crimes committed against the environment, purposefully or not!

So far – 4 marker on green crime!

Traditional criminology = laws being broken so that is how we know a crime has been committed

Green Criminology = newer branch of criminology focusing on green crime! The concept of HARM – if there has been harm to the environment then a crime has been committed (transgressive criminology)

Zemiology – study of harms

Case studies: Bhopal Disaster, Deep Horizon Oil Spill, Pangolins, Palm Oil Production, Chernobyl, trophy hunting (Cecil the lion)

Day – nuclear weaponry – biggest threat to humanity and the environment

White – two elements of focus

1) Anthropocentric – economic growth and the focus is on humans = how does the harm to the environment impact humanity! I.e pollution

2) Ecocentric – both humans and the environment are interdependent – interconnected

South

Primary – direct attack on the environment

Secondary – a crime that has an accidental impact but was not intended in that way OR a crime that does not prevent harm to the environment

Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion, Jane Fonda


 

Cyber Crime

No questions on this – been part of a 10 marker (reference to it in the item)

Jewkes – the internet has created a new place for crime to be committed – technology is constantly developing

Wall

4 main types on cyber crime -

1. Cyber Trespass – hacking into others cyber property – key stroke virus – ethical hacking, people hack into big companies then they will email them and offer to fix it for them BUT there is also ‘hacktivists’ (anonymous)

Ashley Madison – enabling affairs – threatened to expose all users (2015)

2. Cyber deception or theft – phising schemes, illegal downloads, fake websites

3. Cyber pornography

4. Cyber violence – online bullying, trolls and keyboard warriers

Jewkes – ICT has led to increased surveillance

Bauman – liquid surveillance – targeted adverts, ‘cookies’, snap maps, life360, check ins



 

Globalisation and Crime

Castells – global drug trade, global crime economy at present is worth over £1 trillion per annum


Hobbs and Dunningham – we have a successful global drug trade but without a local drug trade it will not continue to be so successful -> supply and demand County Lines – trafficking drugs from cities to smaller towns/villages - Pickering – people from cities going to poorer towns and villages and finding young people to work as runners/sellers - cuckoo’ing = when they take over someone vulnerable’s home


Taylor – Neo-Marxist – transnational companies and global companies – their factories will move elsewhere to take advantage of cheaper labour, different employment laws and avoid tax etc


Glenny – McMafia – after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe mafias began to expand their work, snatch up a good product and sell it more than it was worth, dominate certain markets and therefore securing their position of power. Global reach of mafias, movement from countries so they are no longer based in their country of origin.

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