Crimes Of The Powerful And The Contemporary Condition

The ultimate expression of power is the ability to act beyond the confines of law. Illuminating the condition of ‘panoramic power’, this book offers new thinking on damaging structures of power and privilege – and the political activities needed to achieve intervention and change.

This book offers a critical introduction to trends and developments in contemporary criminological theory. Designed both as a companion to An Introduction to Criminological Theory – also by Roger Hopkins Burke and published by Routledge – and as a standalone advanced textbook, it develops themes introduced previously in more detail, incorporates new critical and radical concepts and explores cutting-edge advances in theory. Key topics include the following: • Constitutive, anarchist, green and species, bio-critical, cultural, abolitionist and convict criminologies • Globalization and organized crime • Southern theory • Critical race theory • Terrorism and state violence • Gender, feminism and masculinity • Ultra-realism • Radical moral communitarianism These key issues are discussed in the context of debates about the fragmentation of modernity and the postmodern condition; the rise of political populism, risk, surveillance and social control, and speculation about living in post-COVID-19 society and the future of neoliberalism. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of criminology, sociology and politics and is essential reading for advanced students of criminology looking for a way to engage with contemporary themes and concepts in theory.

Across the world, most people are well aware of ordinary criminal harms to person and property. Often committed by the powerless and poor, these individualized crimes are catalogued in the statistics collected annually by the FBI and by similar agencies in other developed nations. In contrast, the more harmful and systemic forms of injury to person and property committed by powerful and wealthy individuals, groups, and national states are neither calculated by governmental agencies nor annually reported by the mass media. As a result, most citizens of the world are unaware of the routinized "crimes of the powerful", even though they are more likely to experience harms and injuries from these types of organized offenses than they are from the atomized offenses of the powerless. Research on the crimes of the powerful brings together several areas of criminological focus, involving organizational and institutional networks of powerful people that commit crimes against workers, marketplaces, taxpayers and political systems, as well as acts of torture, terrorism, and genocide. This international handbook offers a comprehensive, authoritative and structural synthesis of these interrelated topics of criminological concern. It also explains why the crimes of the powerful are so difficult to control. Edited by internationally acclaimed criminologist Gregg Barak, this book reflects the state of the art of scholarly research, covering all the key areas including corporate, global, environmental, and state crimes. The handbook is a perfect resource for students and researchers engaged with explaining and controlling the crimes of the powerful, domestically and internationally.

Frank Pearce was the first scholar to use the term 'crimes of the powerful.' His ground-breaking book of the same name provided insightful critiques of liberal orthodox criminology, particularly in relation to labelling theory and symbolic interactionism, while making important contributions to Marxist understandings of the complex relations between crime, law and the state in the reproduction of the capitalist social order. Historically, crimes of the powerful were largely neglected in crime and deviance studies, but there is now an important and growing body of work addressing this gap. This book brings together leading international scholars to discuss the legacy of Frank Pearce’s book and his work in this area, demonstrating the invaluable contributions a critical Marxist framework brings to studies of corporate and state crimes, nationally, internationally and on a global scale. This book is neither a hagiography, nor a review of random areas of social scientific interest. Instead, it draws together a collection of scholarly and original articles which draw upon and critically interrogate the continued significance of the approach pioneered in Crimes of the Powerful. The book traces the evolution of crimes of the powerful empirically and theoretically since 1976, shows how critical scholars have integrated new theoretical insights derived from post-structuralism, feminism and critical race studies and offers perspectives on how the crimes of the powerful - and the enormous, ongoing destruction they cause - can be addressed and resisted.

As politicians and the media perpetuate the stereotype of the "common criminal," crimes committed by the powerful remain for the most part invisible, or are reframed as a "bad decision" or a "rare mistake." This is a topic that remains marginalized within the field of criminology and criminal justice, yet crimes of the powerful cause more harm, perpetuate more inequalities, and result in more victimization than street crimes. Crimes of the Powerful: An introduction is the first textbook to bring together and show the symbiotic relationships between the related fields of state crime, white-collar crime, corporate crime, financial crime, organized crime, and environmental crime. Dawn L. Rothe and David Kauzlarich introduce the many types of crimes, methodological issues associated with research, theoretical relevance, and issues surrounding regulations and social controls for crimes of the powerful. Themes covered include: media, culture, and the Hollywoodization of crimes of the powerful; theoretical understanding and the study of the crimes of the powerful; a typology of crimes of the powerful with examples and case studies; victims of the crimes of the powerful; the regulation and resistance of elite crime. An ideal introductory text for both undergraduate and postgraduate students taking modules on the crimes of the powerful, white-collar crime, state crime, and green criminology, this text includes chapter summaries, activities and discussion questions, and lists of additional resources including films, websites, and additional readings.

′Following the outstanding introduction by the authors there are fifteen excellent original articles devoted to an integrated theory of the relationship between the state and crime. This work is on the cutting edge of critical criminology. It is a must read.′ - William J. Chambliss, Professor of Sociology, The George Washington University, USA. ′This book is a superb compilation of original papers by an impressive roster of authors. While the articles cover a wide range of empirical issues, from Northern Ireland and corporate crime to youth crime and heterosexual hegemony they all explore the implications, strategies and mechanisms of state power. There isn′t a weak paper here: all are extensively documented, well written, persuasive and scholarly in the very best sense.′ - Professor Laureen Snider, Queens University, Canada ′State, Power, Crime is a hugely important book for these times. Bringing together some of the most original minds in criminology it offers a critical analysis of the state, how it constructs crime, responds to it and, at times, engages in the very same. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in justice, freedom and equality.′ - Paddy Rawlinson, London School of Economics Featuring contributions by many of the leading scholars in the field, this seminal text explores the key themes and debates on state power today, in relation to crime and social order. It critically evaluates a range of substantive areas of criminological concern, including terrorism, surveillance, violence and the media. State, Power, Crime provides: "historical overviews of key theories about state power " assessment of the relationship between crime, criminal justice and the state " analysis of the development of law and order policy " discussion of the impact of structural fissures such as gender, race and sexuality " an overview of current research and writing " critical reflection on the future direction of research and analysis " advice on further reading. In 1978, with the publication of Hall et al′s Policing the Crisis and Poulantzas′s State, Power, Socialism, the complexity of the state′s interventions in maintaining a capitalist social order were laid bare for critical criminological analysis. State, Power, Crime offers an up-to-date and comprehensive examination of the challenges posed by state power, in relation to both criminal and social justice.

Across the world, most people are well aware of ordinary criminal harms to person and property. Often committed by the powerless and poor, these individualized crimes are catalogued in the statistics collected annually by the FBI and by similar agencies in other developed nations. In contrast, the more harmful and systemic forms of injury to person and property committed by powerful and wealthy individuals, groups, and national states are neither calculated by governmental agencies nor annually reported by the mass media. As a result, most citizens of the world are unaware of the routinized "crimes of the powerful", even though they are more likely to experience harms and injuries from these types of organized offenses than they are from the atomized offenses of the powerless. Research on the crimes of the powerful brings together several areas of criminological focus, involving organizational and institutional networks of powerful people that commit crimes against workers, marketplaces, taxpayers and political systems, as well as acts of torture, terrorism, and genocide. This international handbook offers a comprehensive, authoritative and structural synthesis of these interrelated topics of criminological concern. It also explains why the crimes of the powerful are so difficult to control. Edited by internationally acclaimed criminologist Gregg Barak, this book reflects the state of the art of scholarly research, covering all the key areas including corporate, global, environmental, and state crimes. The handbook is a perfect resource for students and researchers engaged with explaining and controlling the crimes of the powerful, domestically and internationally.

Corporate Crime is a collection of original papers by many of the world's leading experts on corporate crime, and covers its causes, extent, and control.