13. Global criminology 1

This chapter presents an overview of global criminology, introducing the overarching theme and concept of globalisation and drawing comparisons between crime and justice in different countries. Today, criminologists who research other parts of the world increasingly turn to international definitions of crime, and international understanding of the causes of crime and the effectiveness and legitimacy of the various forms of crime control. In doing so, criminologists in the Global North are becoming more aware that they need to diversify the discipline further to include the knowledge and viewpoints of researchers from the Global South. The emerging area of global criminology is divided into two broad areas of research interest. The first, comparative criminology, focuses on identifying and understanding convergences and divergences in crime and justice between nations and regions. The second area, transnational criminology, explores the nature of organised, state, and corporate crimes and responses to organised crimes that cross borders.

Criminology in the Arab World: Misconceptions, Nuances and Future Prospects

In the protests that occurred throughout the Arab world, the criminal justice system has been the focal contention between citizens and the state. However, the notoriety of Arab regimes has compelled academics to devote their endeavours to political/religious violence, economic development/stagnation and the durability of undemocratic systems that has inhibited the production of criminological scholarship. The study of criminology in the Arab world is critical and necessitates special attention. The following article propounds the establishment of an Arab criminology sub-field that highlights strategies in research in the region, evaluates the current approaches, addresses the challenges and examines its implications on southern, international and comparative criminology.

Theoretical Foundations of Comparative Criminology in a Global Dimension

Comparative criminology is becoming a topical trend in the modern globalized world. The authors present definitions, methods of comparative criminology, they discuss the organizations and agencies that are involved in comparative criminological research. They also show the relevance of conducting international, regional, continental comparative criminological research. It is believed that the goal of comparative criminology is not just the collection of statistical material in several countries, but rather the development of mutually dependent criminological theories. The goals of research conducted within the framework of comparative criminology are, primarily, the extension of criminological theories beyond cultural and national boundaries, the assessment of the national systems of criminal justice and national criminal policies, as well as the coordination of efforts in counteracting transnational crime. As for the methodology of research within the framework of comparative criminology, the authors describe the use of micro-, macro- and meta-analysis. The topics of comparative criminological research are dictated by globalization. In particular, the following topics are relevant: the legality of the work of law enforcement and criminal justice bodies, human rights and some new forms of crime — with an emphasis on environmental protection, consumer rights, food security, as well as cybercrime. The authors present examples of relevant research in comparative criminology at the global, continental and regional levels. Books in comparative criminology, as well as research journals, are mainly published in English, but national criminology textbooks, as rule, summarize the results of comparative criminological research, so some material in criminology textbooks could, in fact, be categorized as comparative criminology. The authors then describe the problems that hinder the development of comparative criminology in Russia. On the whole, the task of the authors is to present the instruments of comparative criminology to Russian researchers, which could contribute to the development of comparative criminological studies in Russia.

Moving Control Theory Forward

Research on self control from several disciplines demonstrates that relatively high levels of self control, emerging from childhood, create considerable personal advantages that accumulate throughout life. This chapter summarizes modern control theory and discusses directions for future development. It highlights the advantages of control theory, including disciplinary-free definitions of human nature and self control and the focus on childhood socialization. The potential for advances in measurement and application is described. Contributions of the theory to public policy are summarized. The role of higher levels of self control for lifelong advantages and the benefits of prevention are described as expectations of the theory worthy of considerable attention. The value of the theory for macro and comparative criminology is discussed.