Crimes of states and powerful elites : a collection of case studies / edited and co-written by Claudia Radiven and Simon Prideaux.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Radiven, Claudia, editor, author.

Prideaux, Simon, editor, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

State crimes--Case studies.

State crimes.

Criminal investigation--Case studies.

Criminal investigation.

Corporate culture--Case studies.

Corporate culture.

State crimes--Law and legislation--Case studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 218 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London : Anthem Press, 2021.

Summary:

This book explores fourteen international case studies of 'crimes of the powerful', both contemporary and historical. As such, it explores a hidden and often unknown area of criminal and immoral activity beyond the more commonly studied field of conventional or 'street' crimes. It offers a unique insight into different examples of criminality and immorality enacted by the powerful, including corporations, states and criminal networks. The case studies include little-known and more widely known events, offering a critical sociological or forensic analysis of each case. By doing so, the book explores what kinds of criminality or immorality the case exemplifies and identifies key contextual and legislative factors facilitating their occurrence and limiting the perpetrators' accountability. The critical analytical approach situates the case studies within the wider context and considers the role of social, political and other factors, such as neoliberalism, colonialist histories, inequalities of race and gender and globalisation in their facilitation of particular kinds of immoral or criminal acts. Fundamentally, it explores the legacies of social harm produced by the case study events and how these have played out over time. <br><br>Being highly topical, the book reflects a growing popular and academic interest in the social harms produced by the actions of the powerful relating to the legacies and consequences of colonialism, and the impacts of global inequalities, particularly in terms of race and gender. Offering a critical sociological perspective on these issues, the book presents a novel insight into criminality which has interdisciplinary relevance in diverse disciplines including criminology, sociology, social policy and law, geography, environmental studies, international politics and development, peace studies and critical gender studies.

Contents:

Cover

Front Matter

Half-title

Title page

Copyright information

Dedication

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Contributors

Chapters Int-con

Introduction

Book Outline

Contemporary Associations

Definitions

Corporate Crime

White- Collar Crime

Professional Crime and Professional Criminals

Social Harm

References

Chapter One Disasters in Aberfan and Grenfell

Aberfan: An Act of God or Corporate Criminality?

Aberfan: An Example of NCB Negligence

Corporate Crime and Further Elaboration

Aberfan as a Corporate Crime

A Final Word

The Grenfell Tower Fire: A Tragedy of Negligence

A Contextual Introduction

The Grenfell Tower Disaster: An Economic State Crime?

Housing and Inequality as a Contributing Factor to the Grenfell Tower Tragedy

Failures Leading up to the Tragedy

Failures during the Grenfell Tower Fire

Failures in the Aftermath of the Disaster

Concluding Remarks

Chapter Two Medico: Big Pharma and the Flint Water Crisis

The Crisis of Criminal Big Pharma: Turing and Valeant Pharmaceuticals' Drug Pricing Strategies, the Wider American Pharmaceutical Industry and Implications for Global Health

Context

Defining Corporate Crime

The Case of Turing and Valeant Pharmaceuticals and the Pricing Strategies of Big Pharma

Implications for the United States and Global Health

Deception, Criminality, Responsibility: Research and Development of New Drugs

Concluding Observations

The Flint Water Crisis: A Case of Environmental State-Agency Crime, Capitalist (Im)morality and Resistance

Contextual Introduction

Criminal Charges and Beyond

Capitalist Immorality?

Environmental State-Agency Crime and the Immoral State

Social Harm and Resistance

In Conclusion

References.

Chapter Three Genocide: The Rohingya and Forced Sterilisation of Women of Colour in the United States

State Crime in Myanmar: The Abuse of the Rohingya

Defining the 'Crime'

Actors Involved

Criminological Analysis

Investigations

A Final Warning

The Coercive Sterilisation of American Women of Colour: Genocidal Capacity and the Welfare State

Introductory Remarks

The Case and Crime

Genocidal Capacity and Language as a Catalyst for Criminality

Tracking Race and Gender in Criminological Theory

Using Social Harm Theory to Locate Responsibility and Accountability

Conclusion: The Legacy of Sterilisation Abuse

Chapter Four State Crime, Corporate Crime and Organised Crime in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Congo

United Kingdom Government Sanctioned Sales to Saudi Arabia as a Crime of the Powerful

Historical Context of Arms Sales and the Yemeni Civil War

Breaches in International Humanitarian Law

Regulatory Bodies and Disproportionate Power

The Social Harms of State-Sponsored Terrorism

A Final Dilemma

Guns, Gangs and iPhones: The Conflict and Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

State Crime

Organised Crime

Globalisation and Capitalism

International Legislation and Self-Regulation: A Brief Summation

Words of Optimism and Conclusion

Chapter Five Organised Crime: County Lines in the United Kingdom and the Problem of Bosnian 'Peacekeepers'

County Lines in the United Kingdom: An Investigation into Organisation, Vulnerability and Government Accountability

Defining and Categorising County Lines as Organised Crime

Implications of Defining County Lines as Organised Crime

Using a Social Harm Perspective to Understand County Lines.

Preventative Strategies for Reducing County Lines Operations

Present-Day Observations

The UN Peacekeepers as an Organised Criminal Gang in Bosnia

Organised Crime and the Applicability of the Concept

Harmful Effects of 'Peacekeeping' Activities

Structural Barriers Facing Bosnian Victims

Conclusion

Chapter Six Colonial Crimes: The Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand and Residential Schools in Canada

The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi: A Case Study of State Immorality

Opening Remarks

The Signing of Two Treaties

The Land Grabs

The Impacts of Colonisation on the Maori

The Waitangi Tribunal and Government Responses

The United Nations Report

A Parting Word

Canadian Residential Schools

An Introduction to State Crime

Canadian Residential Schools: History and Intent

Living in the Schools

The 'Survivor' Controversy

Life after Residential Schooling

Cultural Genocide

Chapter Seven Internment: Yarl's Wood and the Magdalene Laundries

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Background

State Crime and the Appalling Healthcare Provision and Violence in YWIRC

The Detention of Pregnant Women

State-Corporate Crime and Immorality

Political Crime and Immorality

The Detention of Asylum Seekers

Breaching Rule 35 of the UK's Detention Centre Rules

A Social Harm Perspective

The Magdalene Laundries

The Catholic Church

'Black-Collar Crime'

The Magdalene Laundries in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

The Changing Nature of the Twentieth-Century Laundries

State Denial and Legitimisation

The United Nations Committee against Torture

The McAleese Report and State Collusion

Criticisms of the Report.

State Apology, Compensation and Social Harm

Words of Caution

Historical Warnings

Cultural and Religious Caveats

End Matter

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 03 Mar 2022).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-78527-988-2

1-78527-989-0

OCLC:

1257076057