crime - state crime

Question 1

whats a defenition of state crime

Answer 1

green and ward - illegal or deviant activities committed by state agencies

Question 2

whats the scale of state crimes

Answer 2

extremely large scale so its power enables it to conceal its crimes or evade punishment. state also defines what crime is & manages criminal justice system

Question 3

what are examples of state crimes

Answer 3

partygate during lockdown, grenfell tower in 2017, rwanda genocide in 90s

Question 4

whats the domestic law defenition of state crime

Answer 4

chambliss - acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials while executing their duties as representatives of the state

Question 5

why is chambliss’ definition domestic law

Answer 5

limited to the legal framework within a particular country

Question 6

whats an example of a domestic law (chambliss)

Answer 6

MP expenses scandals - claimed expenses beyond the permissible limits as part of their job benefits. MPs committed it while performing their duties as state officials

Question 7

whats an evaluation of domestic law

Answer 7

using states own domestic law is inadequate b/c the state have power to make their own laws & avoid criminalising their own actions e.g nazi germany passing a law to sterilise disabled ppl

Question 8

whats the social harms/zemiology defenition of state crime

Answer 8

michalowski - state crime includes not only illegal actions but also those legally permissible actions that have similar harmful consequences as illegal actions
based on study of zemiology (focuses on the harm caused by state actions)

Question 9

whats an example of zemiology state crime (malinowski)

Answer 9

UK’s austerity policies considered state crimes under this def - altho theyre legally permissiable, theyve caused harm to people through decline in public services and difficulties in accessing necessities

Question 10

whats an evaluation of zemiology/social harms

Answer 10

creates a single standard that can be applied to multiple states
but what level of harm must be caused before its considered a crime? danger of making field of study too wide

Question 11

whats the labelling definition of state crime

Answer 11

state crime is a social construct & what counts as state crime is different depending on who/when/where you ask the question

Question 12

whats an evaluation of labelling defenition of state crime

Answer 12

recognises its socially constructed so what ppl consider sc as can vary across cultures
however audiences can be manipulated e.g r/c ideology, may use media to persuade public to see war as legitimate not criminal

Question 13

whats the international law definition of state crime

Answer 13

laws created through treaties and agreements between states e.g geneva and hague conventions on war crimes

Question 14

whats an evaluation of international law defenition of state crime

Answer 14

doesnt depend on individual definitions, instead uses globally agreed definitions & acc intended to prevent state crime unlike domestic law
but focuses largely on war crimes & agaisnt humanity, ignoring things like corruption

Question 15

whats the human rights definition of state crime

Answer 15

schwendingers - if an act violates human rights it should be a crime, e.g imperalism/racism/sexism

Question 16

whats a positive evaluation for human rights definition of state crime

Answer 16

risse et al - virtually all states care abt their human rights image bc theyre global social norms. makes them sucseptible to shaming and can provide leverage to make them respect civilians rights

Question 17

whats an evaluation of human rights definition of state crime

Answer 17

cohen - while gross violations of human rights like torture are clearly criminal, other acts such as economic exploitation arent self-evidently criminal despite being morally unacceptable

Question 18

types of state crime - whats political criminality

Answer 18

mclaughlin - acts committed by the state or its agents to maintain power or suppress opposition e.g fraud, curruption,

Question 19

political criminality - whats clientism

Answer 19

when the gov places needs of its donors and corporations above the needs of people e.g in covid - granting of contracts to companies with no prior experience in PPE production

Question 20

political criminality - what are war crimes

Answer 20

A war crime is a violation of the laws of war, intentionally killing civilians/mass killings e.g israels bombing & blockades in gaza

Question 21

types of state crime - what are crimes of state security or police

Answer 21

acts of torture, police brutality or injury/death to ppl in custody (e.g genocide)

Question 22

state security & police crimes - whats an example & def of imprisonment w/out trial

Answer 22

detained in a prison without knowledge of why or for how long e.g detention of citizens on suspicion of terrorism at Guantanamo Bay w/out evidence

Question 23

state security & police crimes - whats an example & def of tortue

Answer 23

inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something - Operation Demetrius in NI during the Troubles where 300 men arrested without charge and subjected to sensory deprivation torture by british army

Question 24

types of state crimes - what are economic crimes

Answer 24

corrupt practices such as embezzlement, bribery, and money laundering by state officials

Question 25

economic crimes - whats a type of economic crime

Answer 25

violations of health and safety laws, where govs knowingly permit health and safety breaches in public services to reduce costs or maximize profits

Question 26

economic crimes - whats an example of a health and safety economic crime

Answer 26

michigan water contamination where gov ignored the fact the water was undrinkable & so didnt take action

Question 27

types of state crimes - what are social and cultural crimes

Answer 27

the violation of human rights, such as discrimination based on race, gender, or sexuality

Question 28

social & cultural crimes - what are examples of social and cultural crimes

Answer 28

homosexuality being illegal in 70 countries & punishiable by stoning in brunei jim crow laws US destruction of Native American sights and lands

Question 29

whats an evaluation of social and economic crimes

Answer 29

many states have laws that are based on religion & this discrimination is based on religious beliefs - e.g poland banning abortion is to do w their catholic views

Question 30

whats an evaluation of state crimes - defining state crimes

Answer 30

defining legal activities in one nation as a state crime can be seen as imposition of western values - crime is a social construction, nations have right to self govern

Question 31

how can we explain state crimes

Answer 31

while genocides are ordered & organised by state leaders, they cant happen w/out co operation of soldiers- how do normally law-abiding citizens become involved?

Question 32

explaining state crimes - whats the authoritarian personality

Answer 32

adorno - includes a willingness to obey orders from superiority without question e.g many germans in ww2 had this b/c of the socialisation patterns in germany at the time

Question 33

explaining state crimes - authoritarian personality & psychology

Answer 33

often thought ppl who carry out genocide are psychopaths, but found theres little physcological difference between them & normal ppl

Question 34

explaining state crimes - whats an example of someone with an authoritariaan personality

Answer 34

arendt study of nazi war criminal adolf eichmann found him to be relatively normal and not psychopathic

Question 35

explaining state crimes - what are crimes of obedience

Answer 35

crimes usually defined as deviating from social norms, but state crimes require conformity b/c they require obedience to higher authority e.g police officer accepting bribes from higher ups

Question 36

explaining state crimes - how are people made obediant to crimes

Answer 36

green & ward - to overcome norms against cruelty, ppl who became torturers are often re-socialised, trained & exposed to propaganda about the 'enemy'. often set up as a 9-5 where they can see crimes as apart of their job

Question 37

explaining state crimes - what are the 3 features that produce crimes of obediance

Answer 37

kelman & hamilton - authoritisation: acts ordered by powerful to replace moral principle w/ duty to obey routinisation: once crime is comitted, pressure into a routine that ppl can perform in a detatched manner dehumanisation: enemy is portrayed in a sub-human manner, so moral principles dont apply

Question 38

explaining state crimes - whats modernity

Answer 38

some argue the holocaust represented a breakdown of modern civilisation into pre-modern barbarism, but zygmunt argues there were key features of modern society that made it possible

Question 39

explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 1

Answer 39

division of labour- each person resposible for one small task, no one felt personally responsible

Question 40

explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 2

Answer 40

bureaucratisation- normalising the killing by making it a routine, rule goverened job as well as dehumanising ppl as 'units'

Question 41

explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 3

Answer 41

instrumental rationality- using rational efficient methods to achieve a goal regardless of what the goal is, for business its profit, for holocaust it was murder

Question 42

explaining state crimes - zygmunts features: feature 4

Answer 42

science & technology- railways transporting victims to deathcamps, industrially produced gas to kill

Question 43

explaining state crimes - whats an evaluation of zygmunts features

Answer 43

even tho the modern rational division of labour mayve supplied means for the holocaust, it was motivated by racist ideology along w/ decades of anti-semitic propaganda that helped create bystanders & willing participants

Question 44

explaining state crimes - whats the culture of denial

Answer 44

alvarez- growing impact of the international human rights movement, which cohen argues means states have to make the effort to conceal/justify their human rights crimes or de-label them as crimes

Question 45

explaining state crimes - whats does cohen say about democratic v dictatorships

Answer 45

while dictatorships will flat out deny human rights abuses, democratic states follow the spiral of state denial

Question 46

explaining state crimes - whats the spiral of state crime

Answer 46

stage1- it didnt happen, state denying a massacre but media shows images of it happening stage2- if it did happen, it was smth else like self-defence stage3- even if it is what u say it is, its justified, like the war on terror

Question 47

explaining state crimes - what are cohen's state techniques of neuteralisation

Answer 47

denial of victim- theyre terrorists, violent, exaggerating denial of injury- we're the victims not them denial of responsibility- i was only following orders/doing duty (officers, camp guards) condemning the condemners- they only condemn us b/c of anti-semitism (israeli version) appeal to higher loyalty- self-righteous justification that claim to be serving a higher cause, zionism,islam or defence of the free world