A Criminology of the Human Species


Book Description

The book sketches out how the criminological lens could be used in the climate change debate around possible human extinction. It explores the extent to which the human species can be considered deviant in relation to other species of the contemporary biosphere, as humans seem to be the only species on Earth that does not live in natural balance with their environment (anymore). It discusses several unsettling topics in the public debate on climate change, specifically the taboo of how humans may not survive the ongoing climate change. It includes chapters on the Earth’s history of mass-extinctions, the global state of denial including toward the possibility that the human species could go extinct, and it considers humans' future as a deviant, fatal species outside of Earth, in outer-space, possibly on other planets. It puts forward and enriches the critical criminological tradition by conceptualizing and setting an unsettling tone within criminology and criminological research on the human species and our extinction, by daring criminologists (and victimologists) to ponder and seek empirical answers to controversial imaginations and questions about our possible extinction.




A Criminology of the Human Species


Book Description

"For those getting a bit bored with the endless stream of micro-criminological studies with little ideological bearing, this well-researched book is an unexpected treat. Pushing the limits of criminology's interdisciplinarity tradition, it outlines how Homo sapiens as an intrinsically criminal species is bound to extinct itself and life on Earth as we know it. The stakes are nothing less than the prevention of the Apocalypse." -Jan van Dijk, winner of the Stockholm Prize in Criminology 2012 The book sketches out how the criminological lens could be used in the climate change debate around possible human extinction. It explores the extent to which the human species can be considered deviant in relation to other species of the contemporary biosphere, as humans seem to be the only species on Earth that does not live in natural balance with their environment (anymore). It discusses several unsettling topics in the public debate on climate change, specifically the taboo of how humans may not survive the ongoing climate change. It includes chapters on the Earth's history of mass-extinctions, the global state of denial including toward the possibility that the human species could go extinct, and it considers humans' future as a deviant, fatal species outside of Earth, in outer-space, possibly on other planets. It puts forward and enriches the critical criminological tradition by conceptualizing and setting an unsettling tone within criminology and criminological research on the human species and our extinction, by daring criminologists (and victimologists) to ponder and seek empirical answers to controversial imaginations and questions about our possible extinction. Yarin Eski is Assistant Professor in Public Administration and Co-Director of the Resilience, Security & Civil Unrest (ReSCU) R&I Lab at the Vrije Universiteit (VU), Amsterdam. He obtained his PhD from the University of Glasgow in 2015 and previously lectured at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. Yarin is Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom.




Murdering Animals


Book Description

Murdering Animals confronts the speciesism underlying the disparate social censures of homicide and “theriocide” (the killing of animals by humans), and as such, is a plea to take animal rights seriously. Its substantive topics include the criminal prosecution and execution of justiciable animals in early modern Europe; images of hunters put on trial by their prey in the upside-down world of the Dutch Golden Age; the artist William Hogarth’s patriotic depictions of animals in 18th Century London; and the playwright J.M. Synge’s representation of parricide in fin de siècle Ireland. Combining insights from intellectual history, the history of the fine and performing arts, and what is known about today’s invisibilised sites of animal killing, Murdering Animals inevitably asks: should theriocide be considered murder? With its strong multi- and interdisciplinary approach, this work of collaboration will appeal to scholars of social and species justice in animal studies, criminology, sociology and law.




Transnational Environmental Crime


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to and overview of eco-global criminology. Eco-global criminology refers to a criminological approach that is informed by ecological considerations and by a critical analysis that is global in scale and perspective. Based upon eco-justice conceptions of harm, it focuses on transgressions against environments, non-human species and humans. At the centre of eco-global criminology is analysis of transnational environmental crime. This includes crimes related to pollution (of air, water and land) and crimes against wildlife (including illegal trade in ivory as well as live animals). It also includes those harms that pose threats to the environment more generally (such as global warming). In addressing these issues, the book deals with topics such as the conceptualization of environmental crime or harm, the researching of transnational environmental harm, climate change and social conflict, threats to biodiversity, toxic waste and the transference of harm, prosecution and sentencing of environmental crimes, and environmental victimization and transnational activism. This book argues that analysis of transnational environmental crime needs to incorporate different notions of harm, and that the overarching perspective of eco-global criminology provides the framework for this. Transnational Environmental Crime will be an essential resource for students, academics, policy-makers, environmental managers, police, magistrates and others with a general interest in environmental issues.




Confronting Animal Abuse


Book Description

Confronting Animal Abuse presents a powerful examination of the human-animal relationship and the laws designed to protect it. Piers Beirne, a leading scholar in the growing field of green criminology, explores the heated topic of animal abuse in agriculture, science, and sport, as well as what is known, if anything, about the potential for animal assault to lead to inter-human violence. He convincingly shows how from its roots in the Irish plow-fields of 1635 through today, animal-rights legislation has been primarily shaped by human interest and why we must reconsider the terms of human-animal relationships. Beirne argues that if violations of animals' rights are to be taken seriously, then scholars and activists should examine why some harms to animals are defined as criminal, others as abusive but not criminal and still others as neither criminal nor abusive. Confronting Animal Abuse points to the need for a more inclusive concept of harms to animals, without which the meaning of animal abuse will be overwhelmingly confined to those harms that are regarded as socially unacceptable, one-on-one cases of animal cruelty. Certainly, those cases demand attention. But so, too, do those other and far more numerous institutionalized harms to animals, where abuse is routine, invisible, ubiquitous and often defined as socially acceptable. In this pioneering, pro-animal book Beirne identifies flaws in our traditional understanding of human-animal relationships, and proposes a compelling new approach.




Environmental Harm


Book Description

This unique study of social harm offers a systematic and critical discussion of the nature of environmental harm from an eco-justice perspective, challenging conventional criminological definitions of environmental harm. The book evaluates three interconnected justice-related approaches to environmental harm: environmental justice (humans), ecological justice (the environment) and species justice (non-human animals). It provides a critical assessment of environmental harm by interrogating key concepts and exploring how activists and social movements engage in the pursuit of justice. It concludes by describing the tensions between the different approaches and the importance of developing an eco-justice framework that to some extent can reconcile these differences. Using empirical evidence built on theoretical foundations with examples and illustrations from many national contexts, ‘Environmental harm’ will be of interest to students and academics in criminology, sociology, law, geography, environmental studies, philosophy and social policy all over the world.




An Introduction to Green Criminology and Environmental Justice


Book Description

A comprehensive introduction to green criminology, this book is a discussion of the relationship between mainstream criminal justice and green crimes. Focused on environmental harm within the context of criminal justice this book takes a global perspective and Introduces students to different theoretical perspectives in green criminology Looks at the victims of environmental crime throughout Covers topics such as; wildlife crimes, animal abuse, the causes of environmental crime, regulation, exploitation, environmental activism, policing, prosecution and monitoring. Designed to help readers develop a thorough understanding of the principles of environmental justice and green criminology, as well as contemporary developments, this book will be excellent support to students of green criminology and environmental crime.




Green Criminology and the Law


Book Description

This edited collection is grounded in a green criminological approach to understand whether the law, both in effect and implications, reflects, refracts, or sublimates the social, political and ecological conditions of our times. Since its initial proposal in the 1990s, green criminology has focused the criminological gaze on a wide array of harms and crimes affecting humans, animals other than humans, ecological systems, and the planet as a whole. As a continuously blossoming field of criminological inquiry, green criminology recognizes and examines behaviours that are both illegal and legal (yet detrimental), and in varying ways has made great efforts to provide insight into harms in a more fulsome manner. At the same time, there have been many significant legal instances, domestic, and international, including case law, legislation, regulation, treaties, agreements and executive directives which have troubled the law’s understanding of green harms, illegal and legal activity, pushing legal boundaries in the process. Recognizing that humanity and nature are inextricably integrated, Green Criminology and the Law reflects the range and depth of high-quality research and scholarship, combining contributions from established scholars willing to explore new topics and recent entrants who are breaking new scholarly ground.




Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology


Book Description

The Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology was the first comprehensive and international anthology dedicated to green criminology. It presented green criminology to an international audience, described the state of the field, offered a description of a range of environmental issues of regional and global importance, and argued for continued criminological attention to environmental crimes and harms, setting an agenda for further study. In the six years since its publication, the field has continued to grow and thrive. This revised and expanded second edition of the Handbook reflects new methodological orientations, new locations of study such as Asia, Canada and South America, and new responses to environmental harms. While a number of the original chapters have been revised, the second edition offers a range of fresh chapters covering new and emerging areas of study, such as: conservation criminology, eco-feminism, environmental victimology, fracking, migration and eco-rights, and e-waste. This handbook continues to define and capture the field of green criminology and is essential reading for students and researchers engaged in green crime and environmental harm.




Theorising Green Criminology


Book Description

Rob White’s pioneering work in the establishment and growth of green criminology has been part of a paradigm shift for the field of criminology as it has moved to include crimes committed against the environment. For the first time, this book brings together a selection of White’s essays that explore the theories, research approaches and concepts that have been instrumental to our understanding of environmental harm and eco-justice. The book provides an additional foundation for scholarship that goes beyond expression of opinion or immediate empirical finding; the emphasis is on systematic analysis and theoretically informed consideration of complex realities. It serves as a platform for further debate and discussion of green criminology’s theories, perspectives, approaches and concepts and their application to specific sub-areas such as environmental law enforcement, wildlife trafficking, pollution and climate change. Its aim is not to provide answers, but to stimulate further dedicated theoretical contemplation of environmental harms, threats to biodiversity and extinction of species. This is essential reading for all those engaged with green criminology, as well as criminological theory, eco-justice and environment and sustainability studies.