The dynamics of political crime / Jeffrey Ian Ross.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ross, Jeffrey Ian.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political crimes and offenses.

Political corruption.

Political persecution.

Physical Description:

xiv, 194 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage, [2003]

Summary:

In The Dynamics of Political Crime, Jeffrey Ian Ross provides the most comprehensive and contemporary discussion of the phenomenon of political crime -- crimes committed both "by" and "against" the state -- in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom during the past three decades.

Ross discusses both violent and nonviolent oppositional crimes, as well as state crimes such political corruption, illegal domestic surveillance, and human rights violations. Written by a recognized critical criminologist, this volume develops a new theory of political crime and thoroughly reviews definitional and conceptual issues, causes of political crimes, and ways to control it, and effects of different types of political crime.

Recommended for both scholarly and classroom use at either the upper-division undergraduate or graduate levels.

Contents:

Obstacles to Understanding and Interpreting Political Crime 2

Clarifying What Political Crime Is 3

Why Political Crime Has Changed Over the Past 20 Years 6

Typologies and Categories of Political Crime 8

Targets 8

Perpetrators 9

Why Is This Distinction Important? 10

Where Does State Crime Fit In? 10

What This Book Attempts to Accomplish 11

2. Theoretical Explanations of Political Crime 17

Is It Necessary to Have a Theory of Political Crime? 18

Theories of Political Crime 18

The Broader Context 21

Psychological Theory 22

Structural Theory 24

A New and Improved Explanation 25

Individuals Who Commit Political Crimes 26

Situation Presents Itself 26

Organization Facilitates Illegal/Deviant Behavior 27

Individuals/Organizations Have Necessary Resources 27

3. Oppositional Political Crimes 32

Delimiting and Defining Political Crime 32

Typologies 35

4. Nonviolent Oppositional Political Crimes 41

Historical Perspective 42

Dissent 45

Sabotage 47

Subversion 47

Sedition 48

Treason 51

Espionage/Spying 53

5. Violent Oppositional Political Crimes: Terrorism 62

Definitional and Conceptual Issues 63

Typologies 64

Historical Perspective 64

How Widespread Is the Problem? 66

Number of Events/Annual Trends 66

Geographic Spread 67

Targets 68

Tactics 69

Terrorist Groups 69

Research and Theoretical Implications 70

Causes 70

Structural Explanations 72

Social-Psychological Explanations 72

6. State Crime 78

How Widespread Is the Problem? 80

Definitional and Conceptual Issues 81

Power and Interest Articulation 82

Conceptual Clarification of State Crime 84

Typologies 86

The Relevance of State Repression 88

7. Political Corruption 93

Definitional and Conceptual Issues 93

The Special Case of High Crimes and Misdemeanors 94

How Widespread Is the Problem? 94

Historical Perspective 95

The Effect of Political Corruption 95

Who Are the Perpetrators? 96

Singling Out the Dominant Types 96

Corruption by Lawmakers 96

Corruption by Law Enforcement Officers 99

Corruption by Regulatory Inspectors 101

8. Illegal Domestic Surveillance 106

Definitional and Conceptual Issues 106

How Widespread Is the Problem? 107

Causes 107

The Effect of Illegal Domestic Surveillance 109

Historical Perspective 110

The American Experience 111

The Canadian Experience 114

The British Experience 115

Illegal Domestic Surveillance by Local Police Forces 116

9. Human Rights Violations 121

Definitional and Conceptual Issues 121

How Widespread Is the Problem? 122

Human Rights Violations in the United States 123

Human Rights Violations in Great Britain 124

Human Rights Violations in Canada 125

Safeguarding Human Rights 125

Philosophical Background 125

Treaties 126

Country-Level Departments 126

Regional Efforts 127

International Bodies 128

Nongovernmental Organizations That Protect Human Rights 131

War Crimes 133

Changes in Human Rights Practice 133

10. State Violence 138

Torture 139

Deaths in Custody 140

Police Riots 141

Police Use of Deadly Force 142

Genocide 143

11. State-Corporate Crime 148

Definitional and Conceptual Issues 148

Typology 149

Historical Perspective 150

Causes 153

12. Conclusion: Controlling Oppositional and State Crime 157

Controlling Oppositional Crime 159

Controlling State Crime 161.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-188) and index.

ISBN:

0803970447

0803970455

OCLC:

49805385