Description

The State of the Criminology of Crimes of the State

This article identifies some significant developments relating to the recent emergence of a criminology of crimes of the state, with special emphasis upon the work of U.S. criminologists. First, the origins of a criminology of crimes of the state are explored, including the fundamental conceptual and definitional issues relating to crimes of the state and key contributions to the literature. The interrelationship of a criminology of crimes of the state with cognate areas of criminological inquiry (e.g., corporate crime, state-corporate crime, finance crime, and crimes of globalization) and with other areas in the field is delineated. Finally, there is a brief discussion of sources of resistance to the recognition of and engagement with state crime. The authors then offer an agenda of criminology of crimes of the state. A central premise is that in a globalized, increasingly interconnected world, criminologists must increasingly attend to crimes of the state, and the complex of effects such crimes have on a range of other forms of crime.

state crime, globalization, international control, crimes of globalization

Citation: Social Justice Vol. 33, No. 1 (2006): 147-161