Globalisation and crime

Question 1

Deterritorialisation

Answer 1

Social, political and economic activities are no longer attached to a specific country but are transnational and stretched across the globe

Question 2

The global criminal economy

Answer 2

Held et al suggests there has been a globalisation of crime- an increasing interconnectedness of crime across national borders. Globalisation creates new opportunities for crime, new means of committing crime crime and new offences such as cyber crime. A global crime is one that affects national and international economics, politics or security.

Question 3

Castells global criminal economy

Answer 3

Arms trafficking to illegal regimes, guerrilla groups and terrorists
Green crimes that damage the environment such as illegal dumping of toxic waste in third world countries
Trafficking of women and children. This is often linked to prostitution and slavery, up to 500000 people are trafficked to western europe annually

Question 4

Global risk consciousness

Answer 4

The increased movement of people has given rise to anxieties among populations of the west about risks of crime and disorder and the need to protect borders. One result of this is intensification of social control at the national level. The UK has toughened its border control regulations for example fining airlines if they bring in undocumented passengers.

Question 5

Globalisation, capitalism and crime

Answer 5

Taylor argues by giving free reign to market forces, globalisation has created greater inequality and rising crime. Globalisation has created crime crime at both ends of the social spectrum. It has allowed transnational companies to switch manufacturing to low wage paying countries. The lack of legitimate job opportunities encourage the unemployed to turn to crime.

Question 6

Crimes of globalisation

Answer 6

Rothe and Friedrich examine the role of international financial organisation which are dominated by the major capitalist states. These bodies impose pro capitalist, neoliberal economic ‘structural adjustment programmes’ on poor countries as a condition for loans they provide. This can cause widespread harm as it means governments have to cut welfare spending e.g. Rwanda

Question 7

Patterns of criminal organisation

Answer 7

Hobbs and Dunningham found that the way crime is organised is linked to the economic changes brought about by globalisation. Increasingly, it involves individuals with contacts acting as a ‘hub’ around which a loose network forms composed of other individuals seeking opportunities. This contrats with the hierarchical ‘Mafia’ style criminal organisation of the past

Question 8

Glocal organisations

Answer 8

Sometimes have international links, especially within the drug trade, but crime is still rooted in local context. Hobbs and Dunningham therefor conclude is works in a ‘Glocal’ system where it is still locally based but with global connections. This means the form it takes varies from place to place.

Question 9

Mcmafia

Answer 9

Glenny used this term to describe the way transnational organised crime mirrors the activities of legal transnational corporations like McDonald’s who seek to provide the same product across the world. The origins of transnational crime are in the break of the Soviet Union after 1989 which coincided with the deregulation of global markets

Question 10

Punishment

Answer 10

Globalised crime can be hard to police as it crosses borders. It is also not always clear who is responsible to police it. Furthermore it is hard for police to pin down members of global criminal networks as they are highly secretive

Question 11

Studying global crime

Answer 11

It is hard for sociologists to study global crime as the secret nature of networks means sociologists would have to use covert participant observation to study them effectively