Zemiology Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This book challenges the given dichotomies between crime and harm, and criminology and zemiology. The main aim of the volume is to highlight the inexorable interconnectedness between systemically induced social harm and the corrosive... more

The emergence of the zemiological movement during the late 1990s (Pemberton 2016) marked a crucial moment for scholars who sought to move beyond the boundaries of the mainstream criminological canon. Complete with a new vocabulary and the... more

The emergence of the zemiological movement during the late 1990s (Pemberton 2016) marked a crucial moment for scholars who sought to move beyond the boundaries of the mainstream criminological canon. Complete with a new vocabulary and the discursive space to articulate a multiplicity of harms, which lay outside the conventional discourse of crime, of criminality and criminalisation, areas of harm generation became legitimate focal concerns (Tombs, Chapter 'For Pragmatism and Politics: Crime, Social Harm and Zemiology', this volume; Hillyard and Tombs 2017). Some years later, the landmark edited collection Beyond Criminology: Taking Harm Seriously (Hillyard et al. 2004) was published. Ostensibly grounded upon the Greek term zemia, Beyond Criminology became the basis upon which future zemiological scholarship would build. To further expand the field, this introduction

espanolEn recuerdo a la memoria de Bergalli, proponemos recuperar algunos de sus escritos para reflexionar sobre la criminalidad del poder. Al desvelar los efectos perversos de las acciones ilicitas de las corporaciones privadas en la... more

espanolEn recuerdo a la memoria de Bergalli, proponemos recuperar algunos de sus escritos para reflexionar sobre la criminalidad del poder. Al desvelar los efectos perversos de las acciones ilicitas de las corporaciones privadas en la criminalidad economica y los crimenes contra la humanidad bajo los auspicios de los gobiernos dictatoriales, sus escritos ya anticipaban debates que hoy se hacen sobre el dano social y la criminologia global. El articulo pretende trazar las lineas generales de la reorientacion actual de la criminologia hacia los poderosos. El analisis describe las formas como los gobiernos y las corporaciones, en general inmunes al control penal, pueden estar involucrados en la produccion de danos sociales mucho mas graves que los «crimenes de las calles». Ademas, buscamos situar el interes academico en un campo que se consolida en los ultimos anos. EnglishIn memory of Bergalli, we recover some of his writings to reflect on the crimes of the powerful. Some of Bergalli’...

Since the 1990s, Greece generally, and Lesvos island specifically, have been important gates for unauthorised border crossers who are fleeing violence, conflicts, wars and persecution. Since then, bodies of dead people have washed ashore... more

Since the 1990s, Greece generally, and Lesvos island specifically, have been important gates for unauthorised border crossers who are fleeing violence, conflicts, wars and persecution. Since then, bodies of dead people have washed ashore - in whole or in parts - at the threshold of Europe. Although represented as new, random, unforeseen, unpreventable events and “tragic” accidents border deaths are the outcome of lethal political decisions, which have been enforced since the 1985 Schengen Agreement, and have greatly proliferated in the aftermath of the 2015 refugee reception crisis. This chapter focuses on the continuum of politics of closed borders and the human consequences of the thanatopolitical border regime upon the lives which are apprehended “unlivable” (Butler, 2004). It explores the continuum of border violence and deaths, which occur off the coasts of Lesvos - while people cross the Aegean Sea - as well as inside the refugee camps on Lesvos. This chapter also addresses the temporal continuum of violence and the state and policy facilitated stealing of border crossers’ time. It explores stealing time as a form of institutional and structural violence which is inflicted upon the living, the dead and whole communities by producing multiple forms of harm and/or new types of harm.

In this article we consider the relationship between the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control [European Group] and the promotion of non-penal real utopias. The article begins by considering the historical... more

In this article we consider the relationship between the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control [European Group] and the promotion of non-penal real utopias. The article begins by considering the historical connections between the New Left, utopian ideas, abolitionism and critical criminology, highlighting the role played by the European Group in the development of utopian thought. It then considers the utopian imagination in critical criminology, paying particular attention to Penal Abolitionism and Zemiology as utopia. It briefly analyses the crisis of utopia undergone by critical criminology in the 1980s before moving on to discuss the recent awakening of the utopian criminological imagination and discussing the normative framework on which it should be based. Finally, it outlines the aims and scope of Justice, Power and Resistance showing how it might contribute to the development of emancipatory politics and praxis.

Crimmigration, that is, the merging of criminal and migration law, is receiving increasing attention within criminology. However, while crimmigration widens our understanding of coercion and punishment, it is a reductive lens through... more

Crimmigration, that is, the merging of criminal and migration law, is receiving increasing attention within criminology. However, while crimmigration widens our understanding of coercion and punishment, it is a reductive lens through which to make sense of migration control. This article comprises three parts: first, I critique the concept of crimmigration, its conceptual foundations, and its methodological limitations. Second, I explore how migration control practice transcends both the state’s territory and sovereignty, using the example of the European Union’s policy of non-assistance, and argue that this policy evidences the need to move beyond crime-based categories in favour of a social harm-based approach. Lastly, I propose a zemiological methodology for the study of migration control, based on a critical realist view of society and building on Nancy Fraser’s idea of social justice. The resulting framework provides a coherent and empirically useful tool for the study of border-related harms.

Understanding how technologies contribute to social harms is a perennial issue, animating debate within and well-beyond criminology. This article contributes to these debates in two ways. Firstly, it critically examines five of the key... more

Understanding how technologies contribute to social harms is a perennial issue, animating debate within and well-beyond criminology. This article contributes to these debates in two ways. Firstly, it critically examines five of the key approaches criminologists have used to think through how technologies contribute to harms. Secondly, it proposes a new approach to understanding 'technology-harm relations'. Bringing the theory of critical realism, Simondon, and Floridi into conversation, the proposed approach offers a stratigraphy of harm that enables us to excavate the different layers of human-technology and technology-harm relations. In doing so, it enables us to distinguish between four technology-harm relations that untangle the socio-technicality of harmful events: instrumental utility harms, generative utility harms, instrumental technicity harms, and generative technicity harms.

Criminology is a divided discipline with a common subject matter: crime. Since this universal concept has no ontological reality, its profound implications challenge the coherence of the whole discipline. By reviewing the controversy... more

Criminology is a divided discipline with a common subject matter: crime. Since this
universal concept has no ontological reality, its profound implications challenge the
coherence of the whole discipline. By reviewing the controversy surrounding the notion
of crime and harm, this article puts forward an alternative to challenge their dissimilarities:
the theory of recognition. Through this holistic approach, the juxtaposition
between crime and harm can be overcome. In addition, the role of the victim in criminology
can be redefined, challenging the actual monodirectional crime-victim dualism.
By linking crime, harm, and victims to concepts such as justice and basic human needs,
it will be argued that the whole discipline gains in ontological coherence and autonomy.
However, the epistemological consequences of adopting this perspective must be
clarified.

This chapter outlines the intellectual origins and theoretical foundations of the burgeoning deviant leisure perspective in criminology. It first problematises and challenges some of the central tenets of leisure as it has been approached... more

This chapter outlines the intellectual origins and theoretical foundations of the burgeoning deviant leisure perspective in criminology. It first problematises and challenges some of the central tenets of leisure as it has been approached by liberal social scientists; before going on to draw upon ultra-realist criminology theory to invite new perspectives and leisure and harm in contemporary consumer capitalism.

Social harm is one of the most potent and potentially transformative concepts currently available to the social sciences. However, scholars have struggled with how to define social harm, puzzled by enigmatic questions and tensions around... more

Social harm is one of the most potent and potentially transformative concepts currently available to the social sciences. However, scholars have struggled with how to define social harm, puzzled by enigmatic questions and tensions around how to establish clear conceptual parameters which take advantage of social harm's broader critical focus, whilst avoiding the concept from becoming too nebulous that it loses all utility. This article suggests that the enigma of social harm is symptomatic of far deeper social problems. Namely, liberalism's individualism has combined with postmodernism's cynicism to dismantle belief in any authority or ethics that can transcend the sovereign desires of the individual. This article argues that by revisiting the philosophy of Alasdair Macintyre and Slavoj Žižek, we can shake-off liberal postmodernism's 'culture of emotivism' and ethical maxims to develop a transformative theory of the Good and human flourishing from which we can derive an understanding of social harm.

By chance rather than design, we launched the first issue of JCCHE in the midst of a global pandemic and unprecedented lockdowns which were generating all manner of economic, environmental, technological, and ethical issues for... more

By chance rather than design, we launched the first issue of JCCHE in the midst of a global pandemic and unprecedented lockdowns which were generating all manner of economic, environmental, technological, and ethical issues for governments, policymakers, criminal justice agencies and, of course, the general public. Therefore, when preparing our first call for papers, the theme of 'The Longest Year' seemed to fall into our laps.

This article explains why an understanding of deviant leisure is significant for criminology. Through reorienting our understanding of 'deviance' from a contravention of norms and values to encompassing engagement in behavior and actions... more

This article explains why an understanding of deviant leisure is significant for criminology. Through reorienting our understanding of 'deviance' from a contravention of norms and values to encompassing engagement in behavior and actions that contravene a moral 'duty to the other', the new 'deviant leisure' perspective outlined here, describes activities that through their adherence to cultural values inscribed by consumer capitalism, have the potential to result in harm. Using the ideological primacy of consumer capitalism as a point of departure, we explore the potential for harm that lies beneath the surface of even the most embedded and culturally accepted forms of leisure. Such an explanation requires a reading that brings into focus the subjective, socially corrosive, environmental and embedded harms that arise as a result of the commodification of leisure. In this way, this article aims to act as a conceptual foundation for diverse yet coherent research into deviant leisure.

Corporate flower farms are based along the shores of Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, a Ramsar Convention protected wetland. Kenya suffers from high unemployment and relative poverty and prioritises economic development. Corporate flower farms are... more

Corporate flower farms are based along the shores of Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, a Ramsar Convention protected wetland. Kenya suffers from high unemployment and relative poverty and prioritises economic development. Corporate flower farms are polluting the Lake with the use of agrochemicals and depleting its waters to irrigate this thirsty crop. The influx of people seeking work is also affecting the Lake as wastewater pollution is problematic. This paper will consider the issue of trying to determine who is responsible for the harms associated with any industry, and will also discuss existing and prospective methods of regulating corporate flower farms.

Le présent article vise à examiner les arguments de la proposition zémiologique. Pour ce faire, nous exposons d’abord son objet (I) et les raisons de son recentrage sur les torts sociaux plutôt que sur l’infraction, telles qu’avancées... more

Le présent article vise à examiner les arguments de la proposition zémiologique. Pour ce faire, nous exposons d’abord son objet (I) et les raisons de son recentrage sur les torts sociaux plutôt que sur l’infraction, telles qu’avancées par ses promoteurs (II). Les critiques envers la criminologie en découlent (III). Nous aurons ainsi soumis au lecteur les éléments de la discussion que nous amorçons ensuite: en quoi s’agit-il d’une nouvelle discipline (IV)? Pourrait-on plutôt l’appréhender comme une ex- tension du champ de la criminologie (V)? Mais où placer alors la ligne de démarcation? Autrement dit, dans cette dernière hypothèse, que deviendrait la criminologie ?

This article examines social harm that occurs as a result of the opiatisation of society through consumerism. The concept of social harm is introduced, as is the phenomenon of consumerism, followed by a description of how consumerism... more

This article examines social harm that occurs as a result of the opiatisation of society through consumerism. The concept of social harm is introduced, as is the phenomenon of consumerism, followed by a description of how consumerism acts as a mechanism of social control. Pemberton's (2016) classification of social harm (physical/mental health harms, autonomy harms and relational harms) is used as a theoretical framework for the analysis of social harm that occurs due to the fact that consumerism acts as a mechanism of social control (Scheerer and Hess, 1997). An analysis of social harm indicates that consumerism is a source of social harm as classified by Pemberton (2016): a victim of social harm is an individual who, subjected to the forces of informal social control in the form of consumerism, experiences deteriorated health, anxiety, depression, feelings of loneliness, apathy or even turns to criminal activity.

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la precariedad laboral desde la perspectiva del daño social y la Criminología Crítica, en el estado español, desde la Transición hasta la actualidad. h Se centra en de qué manera el cambio... more

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la precariedad laboral desde la perspectiva
del daño social y la Criminología Crítica, en el estado español, desde la Transición hasta
la actualidad. h
Se centra en de qué manera el cambio estructural que supone el paso a una sociedad
posfordista y la irrupción de nuevo sujeto sociopolítico (que se denomina precariado)
afecta a las necesidades humanas. Se realiza una genealogía de la precariedad y un análisis de daños económicos, psicológicos y físicos. Finalmente, se reflexiona sobre el
papel del Derecho Penal Laboral y cómo abolir la precariedad laboral.

RESUMEN En recuerdo a la memoria de Bergalli, proponemos recuperar algunos de sus escritos para reflexionar sobre la criminalidad del poder. Al desvelar los efectos perversos de las acciones ilícitas de las corporaciones privadas en la... more

RESUMEN En recuerdo a la memoria de Bergalli, proponemos recuperar algunos de sus escritos para reflexionar sobre la criminalidad del poder. Al desvelar los efectos perversos de las acciones ilícitas de las corporaciones privadas en la criminalidad económica y los crímenes contra la humanidad bajo los auspicios de los gobiernos dictatoriales, sus escritos ya anticipaban debates que hoy se hacen sobre el daño social y la criminología global. El artículo pretende trazar las líneas generales de la reorientación actual de la criminología hacia los poderosos. El análisis describe las formas como los gobiernos y las corporaciones, en general inmunes al control penal, pueden estar involucrados en la producción de daños sociales mucho más graves que los «crímenes de las calles». Además, buscamos situar el interés académico en un campo que se consolida en los últimos años. Palabras clave: criminalidad del poder-daños sociales-corporaciones privadas-crímenes del estado ABSTRACT In memory of Bergalli, we recover some of his writings to reflect on the crimes of the powerful. Some of Bergalli's writings, by revealing the perverse effects of the illicit actions of private corporations or the crimes against humanity taken place under the auspices of dictatorial governments, have anticipated the debates that are taking place today about social harm and global criminology. The article tries to draw the general lines of the current reorientation of criminology towards the powerful. The analysis describes the ways in which

This article argues that the time has arrived for leisure and consumerism to become key objects of study for a 21st century critical criminology. As global capitalism struggles to sustain itself it is creating myriad crises in areas such... more

This article argues that the time has arrived for leisure and consumerism to become key objects of study for a 21st century critical criminology. As global capitalism struggles to sustain itself it is creating myriad crises in areas such as employment, personal debt, mental health issues and climate change. Using a zemiological lens, we argue that it is on the field of commodified leisure and consumerism that criminologists can see these meta-crises of liberal capitalism unfold. Therefore, this article positions the burgeoning deviant leisure perspective as a new and distinct form of 21st century critical criminology that departs from traditional criminological approaches to leisure rooted in the sociology of deviance in favour of critical criminology’s recent zemiological turn to social harm. In doing so, this article outlines how the deviant leisure perspective’s emergence at the intersection of zemiology, green criminology and ultra-realist criminological theory enables it to address some of the realities of our times, and begin to explain the normalised harms that emanate from the relationship between commodified leisure and consumer capitalism.

Este artigo estabelece algumas das características-chave dos debates atuais entre, de um lado, aqueles que mantêm o compromisso com o “crime” e a criminologia e, de outro, aqueles que advogam abandonar a criminologia por uma... more

Este artigo estabelece algumas das características-chave dos debates atuais entre, de
um lado, aqueles que mantêm o compromisso
com o “crime” e a criminologia e, de outro, aqueles que advogam abandonar a criminologia por
uma perspectiva do dano social. Para isso, o artigo inicia destacando várias críticas à criminologia que, embora não sejam novas, permitem um
ponto de partida importante para a discussão do
potencial de desenvolvimento de uma disciplina
alternativa. Em seguida, o trabalho apresenta as
razões pelas quais a abordagem disciplinar organizada em torno da noção de dano social se
mostra mais produtiva que a criminológica, com
potencial para maior coerência e imaginação
teórica e para mais progresso político.

Criminological interest in the concept of social harm has exploded over the past two decades and rightly so. Social harm’s broader critical analytical lens brings the most pressing and systemic issues facing humanity into criminology’s... more

Criminological interest in the concept of social harm has exploded over the past two decades and rightly so. Social harm’s broader critical analytical lens brings the most pressing and systemic issues facing humanity into criminology’s purview, thereby broadening criminology’s horizons while simultaneously extending our discipline’s wider import beyond crime and the criminal justice system. While these are maintained to be positive developments for the discipline, this chapter critically appraises the state of the concept of social harm. While frequently used in both academia and everyday life, the chapter argues that as it stands, the concept of social harm is not as healthy as it might seem. On the contrary, social harm is argued to be in a conceptually underdeveloped state of practical and philosophical disorder. This disorder is located in failures to properly comprehend the nature of the concept of social harm; the political and moral philosophy of liberalism; and associated trends of postmodern cynicism. Finally, the chapter explores how this disorder has allowed the perpetuation of liberal capitalism’s assumption of harmlessness; a vital ideological process which facilitates the continuation and disavowal of liberal capitalism’s most severe political, socio-cultural, economic and environmental harms.

RESUMEN En esta recensión se resume y comenta el libro Zemiology. Reconnecting Crime and Social Harm, el cual es un recopilatorio de artículos con un objetivo común: mostrar que es posible una alianza común entre los estudios del daño... more

RESUMEN En esta recensión se resume y comenta el libro Zemiology. Reconnecting Crime and Social Harm, el cual es un recopilatorio de artículos con un objetivo común: mostrar que es posible una alianza común entre los estudios del daño social y la Criminología Crítica. Palabras clave: daño social, criminología crítica, violencia ABSTRACT In this review the book Zemiology. Reconnecting Crime and Social Harm is summarized and commented, which is a compilation of articles with a common goal: to show that a common alliance between social harm studies and Critical Criminology is possible. Desde que, en el año 2004, Hillyard y Tombs publicasen el trascendental artículo Beyond Criminology, taking harm seriously, la cantidad de artículos y libros dedicados al estudio del daño social (entendido éste como un concepto que va más allá de las definiciones jurídico-penales) ha aumentado exponencialmente. La consolidación de esta corriente de estudios y la propuesta de crear una nueva disciplina que se llame Zemiology ha suscitado recurrentes debates en el ámbito de la Criminología

This chapter extends the zemiological gaze into contemporary labour markets to contemplate harm within the service economy. Data drawn from an ethnographic study of service work complements an ultra-realist framework and explores... more

This chapter extends the zemiological gaze into contemporary labour markets to contemplate harm within the service economy. Data drawn from an ethnographic study of service work complements an ultra-realist framework and explores connections between the depth structures of neoliberal global capital, transformed working environments and subjectivity. Ultra-realism provides an explanatory frame for absences as well as presences; the absence of stability, protection and ethical obligation to the other characterise occupations organised around targets, productivity and affective labour. Under these conditions, systemic and subjective harms are visible, raising questions about both the normal functioning of a sector essential to the service of consumer capitalism and the working experiences of young people negotiating a path towards adulthood whilst engaged in stressful, insecure and low-paid work.

In recent years zemiology has emerged to pose key questions about the ways in which social harm emerges from non-criminalised deleterious acts, from criminalisation processes and from the everyday workings of our socioeconomic systems.... more

In recent years zemiology has emerged to pose key questions about the ways in which social harm emerges from non-criminalised deleterious acts, from criminalisation processes and from the everyday workings of our socioeconomic systems. This article both explores and contributes to the zemiological perspective by focusing specifically on developing the notion of cultural harm, as one aspect of social harm. Utilising the examples of (i) the Gender Recognition Act 2004, (ii) a case of ‘trans fraud’ and imprisonment, (iii) and three legal cases involving ‘gender deception’, it explores the limitations of zero-sum approaches to recognising harm. In doing so, the article develops a typology of cultural harm that enables us to move beyond current conflicting claims to harm and begin to identify alternatives that better recognise and address all forms of harm, including those imposed by the hegemonic cis-hetero-patriarchal structures.

Recorrido sobre las rupturas epistemológicas en la cuestión criminal y escenario(s) presente(s) POR FERNANDO J. SANDE (*) Sumario: I. Introducción.-II. Inicios de los pensamientos sobre el castigo estatal.-III. El triunfo de la... more

Recorrido sobre las rupturas epistemológicas en la cuestión criminal y escenario(s) presente(s) POR FERNANDO J. SANDE (*) Sumario: I. Introducción.-II. Inicios de los pensamientos sobre el castigo estatal.-III. El triunfo de la cárcel.-IV. La cárcel/laboratorio y la criminología racista. El positivismo criminológico.-V. Las teo-rías sociológicas en torno del castigo.-VI. Primera ruptura episte-mológica. Enfoque del etiquetamiento y estudios marxianos en tor-no del castigo.-VII. Segunda ruptura. La criminología crítica.-VIII. La ruptura contemporánea. El daño social. La Zemiología.-IX. Con-tra el progreso(ismo).-X. Bibliografía. Resumen: en este trabajo realizaré un breve recorrido por las rupturas episte-mológicas que han irrumpido frente a las formas de pensar la cuestión criminal. Al hablar de ruptura epistemológica me refiero a que, en la forma de estudiar ciertos fenómenos, cambia el objeto de estudio o las fuentes, como así también se modi-fica el método de estudio, mientras que, a su vez, resultan una cuestión transversal en este campo las fronteras que tiene la disciplina en relación con otros saberes, principalmente su carácter autonómico. Analizadas las principales consecuencias de esas rupturas, me propongo confrontarlas con las condiciones actuales de los pensamientos criminológicos, y explicar la ruptura epistemológica que vivencia-mos actualmente. A partir de esta última, entiendo que se abren múltiples cami-nos para generar contenido (y acciones concretas) sobre aquel nuevo objeto de estudio. Palabras claves: epistemología-criminología-zemiología-daño social Un percorso sulle rotture epistemologiche nella questione criminale e sce-nari attuali Riassunto: in questo documento realizzerò un breve percorso sulle varie rotture epistemologiche che hanno fatto fronte alle varie forme di pensare sulla questione (*) Abogado. Especialista en Derecho Penal. Maestrando en Sociología Jurídico Penal, Universidad de Barcelona. Prof. Derecho Procesal Penal, Universidad de José C. Paz. Funcionario del Ministerio Público de la Defensa de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.

In recent years zemiology has emerged to pose key questions about the ways in which social harm emerges from non-criminalised deleterious acts, from criminalisation processes and from the everyday workings of our socioeconomic systems.... more

In recent years zemiology has emerged to pose key questions about the ways in which social harm emerges from non-criminalised deleterious acts, from criminalisation processes and from the everyday workings of our socioeconomic systems. This article both explores and contributes to the zemiological perspective by focusing specifically on developing the notion of cultural harm, as one aspect of social harm. Utilising the examples of (i) the Gender Recognition Act 2004, (ii) a case of ‘trans fraud’ and imprisonment, (iii) and three legal cases involving ‘gender deception’, it explores the limitations of zero-sum approaches to recognising harm. In doing so, the article develops a typology of cultural harm that enables us to move beyond current conflicting claims to harm and begin to identify alternatives that better recognise and address all forms of harm, including those imposed by the hegemonic cis-hetero-patriarchal structures.

When austerity erodes essential public services, it is easy to create categories of ‘should haves’ and ‘should have nots’. Alongside other migrant groups, people seeking asylum are increasingly seen as burdensome, to the detriment of... more

When austerity erodes essential public services, it is easy to create categories of ‘should haves’ and ‘should have nots’. Alongside other migrant groups, people seeking asylum are increasingly seen as burdensome, to the detriment of their rights, dignity and civil liberties.

This book offers a collection of cutting-edge essays on the relationship between crime, harm, and consumer culture. Although consumer culture has been addressed across the social sciences, it has yet to be fully explored in criminology.... more

This book offers a collection of cutting-edge essays on the relationship between crime, harm, and consumer culture. Although consumer culture has been addressed across the social sciences, it has yet to be fully explored in criminology. The editors bring to this field an impressive list of authors with original ideas and fresh perspectives. The collection first introduces the reader to three sets of ideas which will be especially useful to students and researchers piecing together theoretical frameworks for their studies. New concepts such as pseudo-pacification, the materialist libertine, and the commodification of abstinence can be used as foundation stones for new explanatory criminological analyses in the twenty-first century. The collection then moves on to present case studies based on rigorous empirical work in the fields of consumption and debt, 'outlaw' gangs, illegal drug markets, gambling, the mentality that drives investment fraudsters, and the relationship betwe...

Smith and Brisman (2021) have argued that our social and cultural orientation toward environmental crises is influenced by the existence of an ‘Environmental Crisis Industry’ (ECI hereafter) that favours environmental ‘solutions’ that are... more

Smith and Brisman (2021) have argued that our social and cultural orientation toward environmental crises is influenced by the existence of an ‘Environmental Crisis Industry’ (ECI hereafter) that favours environmental ‘solutions’ that are palatable to state corporate interests and the global consumer classes ahead of systemic change. This article, however, argues that the ECI is evolving in the context of political-economic and geopolitical changes that have emerged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is becoming increasingly focused on renewable energy and the shoring up supply and control over the minerals and natural resources crucial to the energy transition. These, however, are not without their own harms. While green criminology has spent a great deal of time considering the harms and consequences of failing to seriously tackle climate change, it has scarcely considered the potential harms that could emerge if the ECI decided to seriously pursue zero-carbon targets. As the ECI gets more serious, this article considers these potential harms and the implications this has for criminologists and zemiologists interested in climate change and environmental harm.

We have been misled it would seem. We have been encouraged to seek justice in big things; big acts, big places, big power; justice we are told is gargantuan, lumbering, total, sometimes brutal, but always big and always from above.... more

We have been misled it would seem. We have been encouraged to seek justice in big things; big acts, big places, big power; justice we are told is gargantuan, lumbering, total, sometimes brutal, but always big and always from above. Justice, we are told, necessarily requires top-down authority, the power of coercion, the rarified nobility of fluted columns, the elevation of the judge’s bench. Borrowing Jeremy Bentham’s colorful turn of phrase, the idea that justice is big, forceful, and hierarchical is “nonsense upon stilts.” Were she alive today, Michael’s grandmother would call it “canal water.” Gibberish, bunk, hooey, hokum, moonshine, hogwash, drivel, poppycock, malarkey. And then some.

Abstract of PhD thesis submitted to Viva examination to obtain European Doctorate