NCJ Number
230913
Date Published
2010
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This chapter intends to contribute to the development of a provisional framework within which criminologists can address issues that may prevent or mitigate the worst of state crimes.
Abstract
The chapter first reviews the history and work of criminologists who have addressed state crime. It notes that the criminology of state crime has been, perhaps inevitably, a retrospective criminology, which has focused mainly on state crimes of the past, notably the Holocaust and other genocides, and responses to them. This chapter calls for a "prospective" criminology of state crimes. The primary focus of such criminology would be the identification of potential sites of prospective crimes of states and the analysis of the most feasible strategies for preventing, subverting, or containing future crimes of states. Prospective criminology of state crime not only must be rooted in a retrospective criminology of state crime, but also must adopt a coherent framework of a rapidly evolving world, including the current features of globalization and postmodernity, as well as the significance of a post-9/11 world. A prospective criminology of state crime must also address some of the key concepts relevant to human rights, nationalism, sovereignty in an increasingly "borderless" world, and legitimacy in an evolving global environment. A prospective criminology should also consider the issue of "pre-emptive" aggression under the rationale of humanitarian intervention and the evolution of international law and tribunals as a means of defining and responding to state crime. In prospective criminology, the chapter advises that care must be taken by researchers to ensure they do not become partners with state entities in rationalizing or justifying state policy or choosing research topics.