NCJ Number
147901
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (July 1993) Pages: 97-115
Date Published
1993
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The author suggests that the criminological agenda should take into account the subject of crimes of the state, particularly human rights violations.
Abstract
The focus on crimes of the state has an external dimension, the incremental growth in the international human rights movement involving the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and Amnesty International. Despite recent interest in crimes of the state and human rights violations, major gaps prevail in the related criminological discourse. Issues of responsibility and criminality are important in the human rights context, particularly with respect to the culture of denial and secrecy. The psychology of denial is discussed, as well as neutralization or motivational theory. Themes in modernist theory that relate to the criminological dialogue on human rights are examined. Historical examples of crimes of the state are cited. 27 references and 5 notes