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Crimes of the Powerful

Module description

This module will offer a critical evaluation of the concept of crime. Moving away from a focus on ‘street-based’ crime, the module will consider the ways in which some of the most harmful crimes are committed by powerful actors within society, including state actors and corporations. This module examines the nature, extent, and impact of the harms of the powerful and seeks to understand the various explanations for this type of activity. It is suitable for non-specialist students and those on interdisciplinary pathways.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of the module is to:

• demonstrate the different types of crimes and harms associated with corporations and state actors
• assess the nature and impact of such harms on society
• examine the institutional, policy and legal context within which such harms and crimes can occur
• evaluate existing practices of law enforcement for holding state actors and corporations to account (at national and international levels)
• critically evaluate the concept of ‘crime,’ from a ‘harm-based’ perspective, which incorporates an understanding of social injury to society as well as individualised victims of crime.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate a critical understanding of the different types of crimes committed by corporations and state actors;
• 2. engage with and critically evaluate a range of sources both quantitative and qualitative that provide evidence of crimes and harms committed by state actors and corporations;
• 3. critically evaluate policy solutions to crimes and harms committed by state actors and corporations at a national and international level.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. demonstrate a critical understanding of the socio-legal context in which crimes of the powerful are committed;
• 5. critically evaluate theoretical approaches that consider ‘harm’ to be a more appropriate starting point for understanding harm in society.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. demonstrate collaborative skills, in presentations and group discussions of course materials;
• 7. critically evaluate own work and the work of others;
• 8. demonstrate a clear and effective argument, in oral and written form;
• 9. work independently, within a set time frame, to complete an analytical task.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:

• environmental harms and crimes;
• state crime and state terrorism;
• financial crimes;
• corruption;
• deregulation and crime;
• poverty;
• policy solutions.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Barak, G. (2015) (ed.) The Routledge international handbook of the crimes of the powerful, Oxford: Routledge
• Barak, G. (2017). Unchecked Corporate Power: Why the Crimes of Multinational Corporations are routinized away and what we can do about it. Routledge.
• Carroll, W. K. (2013). The making of a transnational capitalist class: Corporate power in the 21st century. Zed Books Ltd..
• Chambliss, W., Michalowski, R., Kramer, R. (2010) State crime in the global age, Cullompton : Willan Publishing
• Clinard, M., & Yeager, P. (2011). Corporate crime (Vol. 1). Transaction Publishers.
• Gobert, J., & Punch, M. (2003). Rethinking corporate crime. Cambridge University Press.
• Stanley, E. and McCulloch, J. (2013) (eds.) State Crime and Resistance, London: Routledge
• Hartley, R. D. (2008). Corporate crime: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO.
• Michalowski, R. J., & Kramer, R. C. (2006). State-corporate crime: Wrongdoing at the intersection of business and government. Rutgers University Press.
• Miller, D., & Dinan, W. (2007). A century of spin: How public relations became the cutting edge of corporate power. Pluto Press.
• Sklair, L. (1997). Social movements for global capitalism: the transnational capitalist class in action. Review of international political economy, 4(3), 514-538.
• Sklair, L. (2001). The transnational capitalist class (Vol. 306). Oxford: Blackwell
• Slapper, G., & Tombs, S. (1999). Corporate crime. Longman.
• Simpson, S. S. (2002). Corporate crime, law, and social control. Cambridge University Press.
• Tilly, C. (1985). War making and state making as organized crime. Violence: A reader, 35-60. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/51028/256.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
• Tombs, S. and Whyte, D. (2015) The Corporate Criminal. Why corporations must be abolished, London: Routledge
• Whyte, D. (Ed.). (2009). Crimes of the powerful: A reader. Open University Press.
• Whyte, D. (2015) (ed.) How Corrupt is Britain? London: Pluto Press

Key words search

Crime, harm, state, corporations, climate change, regulation