Political crime
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2008) |
Criminology and penology |
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In
Thus, there may be a question of the
Political crime is to be distinguished from state crime, in which states break their own criminal laws or international law.
Overview
At one extreme, crimes such as treason, sedition, and terrorism are political because they represent a direct challenge to the government in power. Espionage is usually considered a political crime.[3] But offenders do not have to aim to overthrow the government or to depose its leaders to be acting in a way perceived as "political". A state may perceive it threatening if individuals advocate change to the established order, or argue the need for reform of long-established policies, or engage in acts signifying some degree of disloyalty, e.g. by burning the nation's flag in public. But the scope of such crimes can be rather less direct.
Structural functionist criminologists recognise that states invest their resources in maintaining order through social conformity, i.e. a particular culture is encouraged and maintained through the primary social discourses which may include religious, economic, social, or other less formal concerns. Any interference with the media of communication or the sets of meanings embedded in the communications themselves may be perceived as a threat to the political authority of the state. Hence, whether in hard copy or electronically, if individuals distribute material containing uncensored information which undermines the credibility of state-controlled news media, this may be considered threatening.
Moreover, even an offence against non-governmental institutions, persons, or practices may be deemed political. Violence or even discrimination against an ethnic or racial group, as well
Authoritarian governments
Miller says that one of the defining characteristics of power in modern history has been the rationalisation and bureaucratisation of law. Legal codification, or at least debates over the merits of legal codification, became an almost global phenomenon in the nineteenth century as state power was centralised. In particular, the rationalisation of criminal law standardised not just the concept of crime, but was adopted as the means to eliminate the "deviant" as a threat to a modern, uniform, moral standard. In this, the religious establishment began to play a new role in defining "evil" in which threats to the political or social norm became as dangerous as threats to religious orthodoxy. Thus, political speech became one of the most likely activities to be criminalised. The freedom of association and to meet may also be criminalised if the purpose is to express oppositional political views.
Because a political offender may be fighting against a tyrannical government, treaties have usually specified that a person cannot be extradited for a political offense (the political offence exception). Thomas Jefferson wrote:[4]
Treason. This, when real, merits the highest punishment. But most Codes extend their definitions of treason to acts not really against one's country. They do not distinguish between acts against the government, and acts against the Oppressions of the Government. The latter are virtues: yet have furnished more victims to the Executioner than the former. Because real Treasons are rare: Oppressions frequent. The unsuccessful Struggles against Tyranny have been the chief Martyrs of Treason laws in all countries. Reformation of government with our neighbors, as much wanting now as Reformation of religion is, or ever was anywhere. We should not wish then to give up to the Executioner the Patriot who fails, and flees to us. Treasons then, taking the simulated with the real are sufficiently punished by Exile.
Specific crimes
Terrorism
People convicted or suspected of certain crimes classified as terrorism by the government of their country (or some foreign countries) reject that classification. They consider that their fight is a legitimate one using legitimate means, and thus their crimes should be more appropriately called political crimes and justify special treatment in the penal system (as if they were soldiers in a war and therefore covered by the
Religious crimes
Where there is no clear separation between the state and the prevailing religion, the edicts of the church may be codified as law and enforced by the secular policing and judicial authorities. This is a highly functionalist mechanism for enforcing conformity in all aspects of cultural life and the use of the label "crime" adds an extra layer of stigma to those convicted.
References
- ^ Ross, 2000.
- ^ Ross, 2004.
- ^ "Sweden: extradition of US spy suspect 'unlikely'". The Local. 27 April 2013.
'If it's a political offence, you can't extradite a person' to a country outside the EU, said Per Clareus, a spokesman for Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask. 'And espionage is usually considered a political crime,' he added.
- ^ Jefferson, Thomas (1903). The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence. Washington, D. C., Issued under the auspices of the Thomas Jefferson memorial association of the United States.
- Anderson, K. (2006). "Hacktivism and Politically Motivated Computer Crime". Portland: Encurve, LLC. [1]
- Barak, G. (Ed.). (1991). Crimes by the capitalist state: An introduction to state criminality. Albany: State University of New York Press.
- Kittrie, Nicholas. (1975). "In Search of Political Crime and Political Criminals", 50 New York University Law Review 202.
- Kooistra, P. G. (1985), "What is Political Crime?" Criminal Justice Abstracts, March, pp100–115
- Miller, Ruth A. "Corruption, Authority, and Evil: The Invention of Political Crime in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey" [2]
- Robinson, M. (2002). Justice Blind? Ideals and Realities of American Criminal Justice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Ross, Jeffrey Ian. (1995/2000), Controlling State Crime(Second Edition), New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
- Ross, Jeffrey Ian. (2000), Varieties of State Crime and its Control, Monsey: Criminal Justice Press.
- Ross, Jeffrey Ian. (2003), The Dynamics of Political Crime, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
- Ross, Jeffrey Ian. (2012), An Introduction to Political Crime, Bristol: Policy Press.
- Tunnell, K. D. (1993). "Political crime and pedagogy: A content analysis of criminology and criminal justice texts". Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 4(1), 101–114.
- Tunnell, K. D. (1993). Political crime in contemporary America: A critical approach. New York: Garland Publishing.
External links
- New International Encyclopedia. 1905. .