Globalisation

Front 1

what are the causes of globalisation?

Back 1

spread of new ICT, the influence of global mass media, cheap air travel and the deregulation of financial and other markets

Front 2

the global criminal economy

Back 2

Held et al suggest there has been a globalisation of crime: the increasing interconnectedness of crime across national borders, and the spread of transnational organised crime

Castells- there is a global economy worth over £1 trillion per year

Front 3

what types of crimes are involved?

Back 3

trafficking arms and nuclear materials, smuggling illegal immigrants, trafficking in women and children, sex tourism, cyber crime, green crime and terrorism

Front 4

Global risk conciousness

Back 4

globalisation creates new insecurities (risks)
risk is seen as global, rather than happening in certain areas
e.g. economic migrants and asylum seekers fleeing persecution have given rise to anxieties in Western countries
- the result of this 'risk' is that the UK has tightened its border control regulations

Front 5

Globalisation, capitalism and crime

Back 5

Marxist perspective: Taylor argues that globalisation has led to greater inequality
Transnational corporations can switch manufacturing to low-wage countries to gain higher profits, producing job insecurity, unemployment and poverty
Among the poor, greater insecurities encourages people to turn to crime, e.g. the drug trade
for the elite, globalisation creates large scale criminal opportunities i.e. deregulation of financial markers creates opportunities for tax evasion

Front 6

patterns of criminal organisation- 'Glocal organisation'

Back 6

Hobbs and Dunningham- the way crime is organised is linked to globalisation
involves individuals acting as a 'hub' around which a loose-knit network forms- linking legitimate and illegitimate opportunities together
this is different from the 'Mafia' style criminal organisations of the past
they conclude that crime works as a 'glocal' system- locally based, but with global connections

Front 7

patterns of criminal organisation- 'McMafia'

Back 7

Glenny examined McMafia- organisations that emerged in Russia after the fall of communism
- Russian government deregulated much of the economy, leading to huge rises in food prices and rent
- however, commodity prices (oil, gas) remained at their Soviet prices. This meant that well connected citizens could buy these up cheaply and sell them on the world market
- this created a new elite, referred to as 'oligarchs'
- to protect themselves, the oligarchs turned to the new 'mafias'. These criminal organisations were vital for the entry of the new Russian capitalist class into the world economy