State crime
State crime refers to large-scale illegal actions committed by governments within their own borders, which may involve violations of both national and international laws. These crimes can be broadly categorized into four groups: crimes by security forces, political crimes, economic crimes, and social crimes. Crimes by security forces often involve violent suppression of the population, including acts such as torture, imprisonment without trial, and even genocide. Political crimes usually pertain to corruption among government officials, such as embezzlement and bribery, which undermine democratic processes and accountability. Economic crimes involve the infringement of workers' rights and the imposition of unsafe conditions, often exploiting vulnerable populations. Social crimes aim to maintain systemic inequalities, such as institutional racism, through government policy. Holding states accountable for these crimes can be challenging due to their control over legal enforcement and the use of organized force, typically requiring intervention from the international community. The historical context of state crimes, including notable examples like the Holocaust and the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, illustrates the severe consequences that can result from government actions that violate ethical and legal standards.
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State crime
State crime is large-scale crime committed by a government within its own borders. It can include crimes in which the government breaks its own laws or international laws. Because laws are traditionally enforced by the will of the state, and because most governments will not tolerate displays of force by other governments, holding states accountable for their crimes is often difficult or impossible. State crimes can be divided into four broad categories: crimes by security forces, economic crimes, social crimes, and political crimes. Crimes by security forces are typically violent acts of suppression carried out by a nation’s police forces or military. Economic crimes are crimes against workers, typically involving the erosion of workers’ rights. Social crimes are intentional efforts to keep a portion of the population subjugated. Political crimes are crimes carried out by individual politicians, often involving corruption.
Background
A state is a sovereign political entity, typically a government that controls a specific geographic territory. The state is responsible for enforcing law and order within its borders. This includes defending the territory from foreign threats. However, it also includes defending the populace of the territory from bad actors that may originate within the state.
Most states create some form of legal code. These codes typically specify actions that are forbidden because they are deemed harmful to society, and lay out punishments for those actions. The state is responsible for maintaining, updating, and enforcing these legal codes. Violations of the codes are called crimes.
However, states do not always act in a consistent or ethical manner. When a state violates its own laws, or fails to act in a manner that would prevent the breaking of those laws, the state has committed a state crime. Because states are typically the entities responsible for enforcing the legal codes, holding states accountable for crimes can be very difficult. States typically enforce laws through displays of force, including the use of police forces, prisons, and militaries. Because most states hold a monopoly on the use of organized force within their own borders, it falls on the international community to hold states accountable for crimes. Punishments for state crimes may include public condemnation, economic sanctions, and in extreme cases, declarations of war.
Overview
State crime is typically divided into several categories: crimes by security forces, political crimes, economic crimes, and social or cultural crimes. Crimes committed by security forces are typically violent, and used to harm or suppress segments of a state’s population. These crimes include the abduction of citizens, imprisonment without trial, torture, violence towards political dissidents, and genocide.
Security forces have committed state crimes on many occasions throughout modern history, especially in countries with dictatorships or other forms of totalitarian government. The actions are often intended to enforce obedience to the state through fear, crushing any form of political resistance or protest. However, such violent crimes may also be motivated by bigotry, racism, or extreme nationalism.
For example, in Cambodia, between the years 1975 and 1979, the dictator Pol Pot and his military carried out a variety of state crimes against his own people. He sought to form a new style of government, and used terror tactics to force his people to comply. These tactics included the torture, forced labor, and mass executions. Pol Pot’s orders led to the death of between 1.5 and 3 million people—roughly one in four Cambodians at the time.
The most famous example of state crime carried out by security forces is the Holocaust, the systematic murder of Jewish people perpetrated by the Nazi Party between 1941 and 1945. The Nazi Party, led by dictator Adolf Hitler, killed about six million Jewish people in Germany and its occupied territories. The Nazis also tortured and executed other groups, such as communists, certain ethnicities, and people with disabilities.
In the twenty-first century, China's treatment of the ethnic Uyghur Muslims is a modern example of state crimes. From 2014 to 2023, over one million Uyghurs have been forcibly detained and subjected to re-eduction programs, which can sometimes involve torture. Additionally, the population is subject to mass surveillance and reports have surfaced that some women are forcibly sterilized by the state.
Political crimes occur when representatives of the state use their power unfairly to benefit themselves. These acts are also commonly called political corruption. Some political crimes may include embezzlement (when carried out by a politician), bribery, and vote rigging.
Political crimes also include crimes against the media. If the media is kept under the strict control of the state, it may be difficult for citizens of the country to discover the truth about the government and any crimes it may commit.
One recent example of a political crime was an incident committed by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the President of Equatorial Guinea, who took power in a military coup in 1979. In 2003, Mbasogo took control of much of the nation’s money, moving roughly half a billion dollars from the national treasury into his own accounts.
Economic crimes are illegal activities committed by public officials that reach beyond simply stealing money. These might include actively infringing on the rights of workers or forcing the removal of safety restrictions. In most situations, workers have little recourse against a state committing widespread economic crimes.
Social and cultural crimes occur when the government guides public opinion in an unethical way designed to keep certain segments of the population repressed. For example, a government might enact policies that are designed to support institutional racism, keeping one portion of the economy poorer than others. These actions may be contrary to the rhetoric promoted by the state.
According to sociologist Stan Cohen, most states do not admit that an offense was wrong or work to reform themselves without significant external pressure. Instead, they go through a process he called the spiral of denial. A state’s first action when accused of state crimes is to deny that such offenses happened at all. This continues until the international community presents significant evidence that the crime occurred. Once evidence is presented, states question the narrative presented by the evidence. They may claim that the evidence is falsified, or that the crimes were carried out by someone else. Finally, states may admit that the crimes occurred, but find some way to justify them. They may claim that the acts were necessary, or that they were the victims’ own fault.
Bibliography
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