State Crime Flashcards
What are state crimes?
All forms of crime committed by or on behalf of states and governments
What are examples of state crimes?
genocide
torture
bribery and corruption by state officials
war crimes
state-corporate crimes
vote-rigging
detention without trial
Institutional racism by the state
What three reasons do Marxists give for believing that state crimes are the most serious types of crimes?
The scale of state crime
The state have the power to create and enforce laws - they can define their actions as legal
The state has a monopoly of violence - can define when violence is acceptable and when it should be considered an act of terrorism
What are examples of state crimes in the UK?
1970s - UK used ‘white noise’ to torture IRA suspects
Illegal detention and torture of Iraqis during Iraq War, 2003
Murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane in 1989 by loyalists paramilitaries in collusion with MI5
What is semiology?
Study of harms
If an action by the state causes harm it should be considered a state crime regardless of whether it breaks state laws
What are natural rights?
Entitlements as a human being such as: right to life, liberty, free speech etc
What are civil rights?
Entitlements such as: the right to vote, education, privacy, fair trail etc.
What do the Schwendigers argue about human rights and state crimes?
Argue any action that breaches human rights should be considered a state crime, even if it’s legal
What three features did Kelman and Hamilton identify that produce crimes of obedience?
Authorisation - acts are ordered by those in authority, duty to obey orders
Routinisation - crime is routine, part of everyday work
Dehumanisation - the enemy is seen as sub-human, evil or a monster
What did Cohen argue the Spiral of Denial is?
Where states attempt to conceal or justify their human rights crimes, or re-label them as not a crime
What three stages did Cohen identify in the Spiral of Denial?
It didn’t happen - this continues until evidence demonstrates it did happen
It did happen, but it’s ‘something else’ - e.g. self-defence not murder
Acknowledging what really happened but justifying it - as part of a nations security or part of the war on terror
What five parts are there to Matza’s techniques of neutralisation?
Denial of victim - they re the terrorists, they are used to violence
Denial of injury - we are the real victims, not them
Denial of responsibility- I was obeying orders, doing my duty
Condemning the condemners - they are worse then us, they are the enemy
Appeal to higher loyalty - e.g. national security, defend the free world etc.
