20 Questions
How do Green and Ward (2005) define state crime?
Illegal or deviant activities by or with the complicity of state agencies
According to Chambliss, what constitutes state crime under domestic law?
Acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs
Which example best fits the definition of political crimes as per the content?
Corruption Index by Transparency International
Who argued that the study of crime should focus on harm rather than legality?
Michalowski and Hillyard
According to Rothe and Mullins (2008), what characterizes state crime?
Actions that violate international law or a state's own domestic law
Which of the following is a type of economic crime?
Austerity policies causing harm to the population
What does Cohen's 'Culture of Denial' model include?
Justifying the crime in three stages: 'It didn't happen', 'It's something else', and 'It's justified'
Who calculated that over 169 million people were murdered by governments from 1900-1987, excluding war deaths?
Rummel
According to the information, which feature is identified as making state crimes difficult to detect and intervene?
National Sovereignty and the state's ability to change laws
According to Schwendinger (1975), how should state crime be defined?
As violations of people's basic human rights by the state and their agents
Which thinker's definition of state crime includes both illegal acts and legally permissible acts that cause similar harm?
Michalowski
Which of the following crimes would be categorized as an economic crime?
Austerity policies causing harm
According to the Corruption Index, which of the following countries is NOT listed as one of the least corrupt?
Sudan
What does Cohen's Stage 3 of the Culture of Denial state?
Even if it happened, it is justified.
Which theory by Sykes and Matza involves justifying criminal acts through denial of victims and injury, among other methods?
Neutralisation Theory
Which state's actions in 1975-1978 resulted in the death of up to 1/5 of its population due to state crime?
Cambodia
What does the term 'zemiology' refer to?
The study of harm
Which event is an example of 'genocide' as defined in the content provided?
Rwanda 1994
Which type of state crime is exemplified by 'ISIS destruction of Churches and shrines in Mosul'?
Social and cultural crime
What does the concept of 'national sovereignty' indicate in relation to state crime?
Difficulty for international bodies to intervene
Study Notes
State Crime
Definitions of State Crime
- Green and Ward (2005) define state crime as illegal or deviant activities perpetrated by, or with the complicity of, state agencies.
- Chambliss defines state crime as acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as representatives of the state.
- Michalowski (1985) includes illegal acts and legally permissible acts whose consequences are similar to those of illegal acts in the harm that they cause.
- Hillyard (2004) proposes replacing the study of crime with zemiology, regardless of whether the act is against the law.
- Rothe and Mullins (2008) define state crime as an action by or on behalf of a state that violates international law and/or a state's own domestic law.
- Schwendinger (1975) views state crime as a violation of people's basic human rights by the state and their agents.
Types of State Crime
- Eugene McLaughlin is a key thinker in this area.
- Political Crimes:
- Censorship or Corruption: Correlation between corruption, war and conflict, and poverty, as seen in the Corruption Index.
- Genocide: Examples include Rwanda (1994), Cambodia (1970s), and Bosnia Herzegovina (1990s).
- Torture, Imprisonment Without Trial, and Disappearance of Dissidents: Examples include Guantanamo Bay, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
- Economic Crimes:
- Official violations of health and safety laws: Examples include the Chernobyl Disaster.
- Economic Policies that cause harm to the population: Examples include austerity.
- Social and Cultural Crimes:
- Institutional Racism: Police force targeting certain groups in society, and Ethnocentric Curriculum ignoring certain groups' history.
- Destruction of native cultures and heritage: Examples include ISIS destruction of Churches and shrines in Mosul, and USA destruction of Native Indian sites and lands.
Seriousness of State Crime
- Scale: States can cause large and powerful, often widespread harm, as seen in the example of Cambodia (1975-1978) where the Khmer Rouge government killed up to 1/5 of the entire population.
- Culture of Denial: Cohen's stages of denial include:
- STAGE 1: 'It didn't happen'.
- STAGE 2: 'If it did happen, it's something else'.
- STAGE 3: 'Even if it is what you say it is, it's justified'.
- State as a source of Law: States have the power to conceal their crimes and make them harder to detect, and change the law to benefit their deviance.
- Neutralisation Theory: Sykes and Matza (1957) propose that state crimes can be justified through:
- Denial of the victim
- Denial of responsibility
State Crime
Definitions of State Crime
- Green and Ward (2005) define state crime as illegal or deviant activities perpetrated by, or with the complicity of, state agencies.
- Chambliss defines state crime as acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their jobs as representatives of the state.
- Michalowski (1985) includes illegal acts and legally permissible acts whose consequences are similar to those of illegal acts in the harm that they cause.
- Hillyard (2004) proposes replacing the study of crime with zemiology, regardless of whether the act is against the law.
- Rothe and Mullins (2008) define state crime as an action by or on behalf of a state that violates international law and/or a state's own domestic law.
- Schwendinger (1975) views state crime as a violation of people's basic human rights by the state and their agents.
Types of State Crime
- Eugene McLaughlin is a key thinker in this area.
- Political Crimes:
- Censorship or Corruption: Correlation between corruption, war and conflict, and poverty, as seen in the Corruption Index.
- Genocide: Examples include Rwanda (1994), Cambodia (1970s), and Bosnia Herzegovina (1990s).
- Torture, Imprisonment Without Trial, and Disappearance of Dissidents: Examples include Guantanamo Bay, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
- Economic Crimes:
- Official violations of health and safety laws: Examples include the Chernobyl Disaster.
- Economic Policies that cause harm to the population: Examples include austerity.
- Social and Cultural Crimes:
- Institutional Racism: Police force targeting certain groups in society, and Ethnocentric Curriculum ignoring certain groups' history.
- Destruction of native cultures and heritage: Examples include ISIS destruction of Churches and shrines in Mosul, and USA destruction of Native Indian sites and lands.
Seriousness of State Crime
- Scale: States can cause large and powerful, often widespread harm, as seen in the example of Cambodia (1975-1978) where the Khmer Rouge government killed up to 1/5 of the entire population.
- Culture of Denial: Cohen's stages of denial include:
- STAGE 1: 'It didn't happen'.
- STAGE 2: 'If it did happen, it's something else'.
- STAGE 3: 'Even if it is what you say it is, it's justified'.
- State as a source of Law: States have the power to conceal their crimes and make them harder to detect, and change the law to benefit their deviance.
- Neutralisation Theory: Sykes and Matza (1957) propose that state crimes can be justified through:
- Denial of the victim
- Denial of responsibility
Explore the concept of state crime, its definitions, and theoretical approaches. Learn about the roles of domestic law and zemiology in understanding state crime.
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