state crime

Question 1

What are examples of state crime?
A:

Answer 1

Rwandan Genocide (1994) – government involvement in mass killing

Iraq War – questioned legality and human rights violations

My Lai Massacre – US army killed 500 civilians in Vietnam

Institutional racism – e.g. UK police in the Stephen Lawrence case

Question 2

What does Cohen say about state denial?

Answer 2

A: Stanley Cohen (2001) – States use “spirals of denial”:

“It didn’t happen”

“It wasn’t us”

“It was justified”

Question 3

What are techniques of neutralisation?

Answer 3

A: Sykes & Matza (1957) – used to justify crime:

Denial of victim (“they were terrorists”)

Denial of injury

Denial of responsibility (“I was following orders”)

Condemnation of condemners

Appeal to higher loyalties (“I did it for the country”)

Question 4

What are crimes of obedience?
A: Crimes committed under pressure to obey authority – Kelman & Hamilton (1989):

Answer 4

Authorisation – told to do it

Routinisation – becomes normal

Dehumanisation – victims seen as less than human

Question 5

Why is state crime a problem for sociologists?

Answer 5

Lack of reliable data (governments hide crime)

Fear of exposing powerful actors

Definitions vary (legal vs human rights

Question 6

What are solutions to state crime?

Answer 6

International law / tribunals

NGOs / whistleblowers

Transitional justice (truth commissions, reparations)

Critical criminology: hold states accountable using wider definitions