Examine the relationship between crimes against the environment and the progress of globalisation (21marks)

Taylor links global crime to the way the capitalist system has developed. Two important features have been the rise of transnational corporations which are companies that operate across national borders, and the deregulation of financial and other markets.  The ability of transnational corporations  to move production to cheap labour areas gas caused exploitation in many countries, this include the use of forced  and child labour. Many westernised countries such as Britain, manufacturing jobs have disappeared however this has resulted in crime increasing as people seek illegitimate ways of reaching the success goals of society, globalisation has also increased the opportunities of financial fraud on a massive scale. Taylor links the growth of the drugs trade to globalisation in that it has had an impact on both the supply and the demand for illegal substances.

McMafia (by Misha Glenny)is an example of the relationship between criminal organisation and globalisation , this is the organisations that emerged in Russia and Eastern Europe following the fall of communism, because of this the Soviet state has regulated the prices of everything, however the Russian government deregulation most sectors of the economy except for oil. Anyone with access to funds, such as former communist officials and secret service generals could buy up oil, gas, diamonds or metals for next to nothing, then selling them abroad at an astronomical profit. Because of the amount of money they made for doing this they became Russia’s new capitalist class, often referred to as ‘oligarchs’, to protect their wealth they turned to the ‘mafias’, these mafias were purely economic organisations formed to peruse self-interest. For example, Chechen mafia originated in Chechnya, but soon began to franchise its operations to non-Chechen groups. ‘Chechen mafia’ became a brand name that they sold to protection rackets in other towns, so long as they always carried out their word, otherwise the brand would be damaged.

Green/environmental crime can be defined as crime against the environment, a lot of green crime can be linked to globalisation and the increasing interconnectedness of societies. Ulrich Beck talks about the ‘Global Risk Society’ meaning that things that humans to do the environment that harm it, for example green house gases. Green criminology takes a more radical approach in that it starts from the notion of harm rather than whether a criminal law has been broken. Different counties have different laws, so that the same harmful action in one country maybe legal in another. Green crimes come into two categories, primary and secondary. Primary crimes are crimes that result directly from the destruction of the earth’s resources and secondary crime is crime that grows out of the flouting of rules aimed at preventing or regulation environmental disasters. An example of a primary crime would be air pollution and an example of a secondary crime would be state violence against oppositional groups.