Globalisation, Green Crime and State Crime

• In a nutshell


  Globalisation has allowed transnational organised crime to flourish - for instance, the trafficking of arms, drugs and people. We now live in a global risk society where human-made threats include large environmental damage. Green criminology adopts an ecocentric view based on harm rather than the law, and identified both primary and secondary green crimes. The state also contributes to green crime through the exploitation of health and safety laws, for example.
• GLOBALISATION & CRIME - CASTELLS


  As a result of globalisation, there is a global criminal economy worth over £1 trillion per annum:

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  Trafficking of arms, women, children, body parts, cultural artefacts, nuclear materials and endangered species

  Smuggling illegal immigrants

  Sex tourism

  Cyber-crimes

  Green crimes

  International terrorism

  The drugs trade

  Smuggling of legal goods
• GLOBALISATION & CRIME - TAYLOR


  Globalisation has created crimes at both ends of the spectrum; it has allowed transnational corporations to switch manufacturing to low-wage countries, producing job insecurity, unemployment and poverty. Globalisation has also created inequality, leading to the increase in crime due to resentment and material deprivation.
• GLOBALISATION & CRIME - GLENNY


  McMafia - the organisations that emerged in Russia following the fall of communism. Glenny traces the origins of transnational organised crime to the breakup of the soviet union, which coincided with the deregulation of global markets.
• GREEN CRIME - WHITE 1


  Distinguishes between types of criminology:

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  Traditional criminology - its subject matter is defined by criminal law and is therefore not concerned with green criminology

  Green criminology - the proper subject of criminology is any action that harms the physical environment, and humans or non-human animals within it.
• GREEN CRIME - WHITE 2


  Distinguishes between types of harm:

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  Anthropocentric = a human-centred approach. It’s the idea that humans have the right to use the world’s resources and dominate nature.

  Ecocentric = humans and nature are interdependent. This is the view of green criminologists who see both humans and the environment as liable to exploitation.
• GREEN CRIME - SOUTH


  Primary green crimes - crimes that result directly from the destruction and degradation of the earth’s resources:

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  Crimes of air pollution

  Crimes of deforestation

  Crimes of species decline and animal abuse

  Crimes of water pollution

  Secondary green crimes - crime that grows out of flouting or rules aimed at preventing or regulating environmental disasters:

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  State violence against oppositional groups

  Hazardous waste and organised crime

  Environmental discrimination
• STATE CRIME - MCLAUGHLIN


  Distinguishes between the types of state crime:

  Political crimes (Eg. Corruption and censorship)

  Crimes by security and police forces (Eg. Genocide, torture and disappearances of dissidences)

  Economic crimes (Eg. Violation of health and safety laws)

  Social and cultural crime (Eg. Institutional racism)
• Anthropocentric Views - WHITE


  White suggests that the law protects the offenders more than the environment because humans have an ‘anthropocentric' world view.

  This means that humans tend to believe that they have the right to dominate the planet and therefore are more important than all other species. 
• Ecocentric Views - WHITE

  The opposite approach would be to take an ‘ecocentric’ world view.

  This approach suggests that individuals should see humans as being part of a larger ecosystem and therefore equally important to other species and the environment.
• Adorno - STATE CRIME

  Adorno discuss the authoritarian personality theory, and claims that individuals follow the orders of their superiors, without question.

  This commonly occurs during war, according to Adorno, which may explain why usually law-abiding citizens can become capable of committing awful acts.

  Adorno uses the example of Nazi Germany and argues that the authoritarian personality of Hitler led to the horrific war crimes committed by the Nazis.
• Hobbs and Dunningham - GLOCAL CRIME


  Hobbs and Dunningham argue that due to technological developments such as the internet, individuals now have easy access to others around the world that will assist their criminal activity.

  They argue this creates ‘glocal’ crime, this is when global criminal economies begin to trade in local areas.

  For example, a global drug organisation recruiting local drug dealers to sell their illegal products.