Postgraduate Course: Global Crime and Insecurity (LAWS11292)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Global Crime and Insecurity is one of two core courses on the MSc programme in Global Crime, Justice and Insecurity and is available to students on LLM programmes, the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice, the MSc in International and European Politics, the MSc in International Relations, and other MSc programmes subject to agreement between the course convenor and relevant programme director.
The focus of the course is the definition, explanation and interpretation of global forms of crime, insecurity and injustice. This is tackled in a structure which examines issues of categorization and definition first, before exploring a range of contexts in which crime and criminality may be researched, then examining particular forms of crime and finishing with questions of measurement and interpretation.
The focus of the course is on policy and legal responses to international and global forms of crime, insecurity and injustice. This is tackled in a structure which examines issues a range of different policing, judicial and regulatory frameworks, with attention paid in each of these sessions to the underlying logic of the approach. Following this, various mechanisms through and contexts in which criminal justice policy might spread are examined. The course finishes with a case study of money laundering, but depending on the availability of staff, this could be replaced with any substantive crime issue which allows students the opportunity to draw together a number of the issues raised in earlier sessions.
|
| Course description |
Order of content may need to vary from year to year to accommodate individual lecturers or other commitments; where this interferes with the logical running of the course, session subtitles will indicate which aspect of the course the session fits within.
1. Introduction/Globalization and crime (Aitchison)
An introduction to some key ideas about globalization and about the way crime is defined and understood. Highlighting the implications of globalization on how crime is defined, how criminal acts take place, and, looking forward to a further course, responding to Global Crime and Insecurity, how responses are developed.
Sessions 2 and 3 examine some of the issues around the categorization of crime.
2. International corporate crimes and harms (Aitchison/Copson)
The session will look at international corporate actors engaged in criminal activity (e.g. tobacco trafficking, bribery) and at other harms that may sit on or outside the boundary of what is defined as criminality.
3. Terrorism and the boundary between crime and war (Aitchison)
Identifying different ways of conceptualising terrorism and the implications on institutional responses, examining the role of police, intelligence and military organisations. Background material will include video of relevant colleagues responding to questions on terrorism.
Sessions 4-6 explore some of the relevant contexts of global and international crime
4. Crime in war - exploring the black economy and state-crime links (Aitchison)
Drawing on the work of Peter Andreas, the session examines the ways in which grey or black economies function in contexts of war, how this relates to the international environment, the goals of warring authorities, the needs of civilian populations and criminal acquisition of wealth.
5. Failed states and crime (Aitchison)
Moving on from crime in the context of war, this session looks at a wider range of contexts where states are damaged or weakened and looks at the relationship between this and different forms of crime within and beyond those states.
6. Global criminals: Understanding genocidaires (Aitchison)
Exploration of two different levels of analysis to explain genocidal activity: organisational and individual. Using historical material and focusing on Germany and German/Nazi-Occupied Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda.
7. Cross-border crime: Trafficking (Aitchison)
Group work on different forms of trafficking as defined by what is trafficked (endangered species, weaponry, drugs, people), identifying commonalities and particularities, overlaps in participants. Focus on (a) drivers (b) actors (c) practices.
8. Crimes in the global virtual environment (Haywood)
Acting as a taster for the second semester course, the session will introduce students to cyberspace as an environment with particular criminal opportunity structures.
The final two sessions deal with general overarching issues that arise throughout weeks 2-8, and that shape our understanding of a variety of crimes.
9. Measuring crime in a global context (Aitchison)
(a) comparing crime levels
(b) measuring transnational criminal phenomena
10. Understanding the transnational organisation of crime (Aitchison)
A session which looks at different ways in which transnational crime is mapped and understood (looking from local manifestations up to build a picture of shifting alliances, or looking top-down for relatively stable transnational organizations).
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 50 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1: Case based exercise focusing on the law and facts relevant to decisions on jurisdiction or on individual liability (1,500-word written paper worth 25% of final mark).
2: 3,500-word journal article, worth 75%, with questions based on a selection of sessions.
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
Global Crime and Insecurity draws on criminology alongside other relevant approaches to analyse and evaluate alternative explanations for international and transnational developments in crime. The course offers opportunities to develop knowledge and skills which are subject specific, generic within academic work and transferable.
Course/subject specific
- Specialist knowledge of specific areas and issues in global crime, justice and security.
- In-depth understanding of alternative conceptual and explanatory frameworks used in the study of crime, justice and security in a global context.
- Ability to apply concepts and theories to describe, explain and evaluate developments in global crime, justice and security.
- Awareness of contemporary debates in a range of academic literature on global crime, justice and security.
General academic
- Locating relevant information and literature through library and IT resources.
- Use of key databases of peer-reviewed material.
- Ability to collect and synthesize large amounts of empirical and theoretical material from a variety of sources.
- Analysis, use and assessment of empirical evidence in support of explanatory claims.
- Articulate and defence of argument.
- Informed independent thinking critical judgement.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Summarising and communicating information and ideas orally and in writing.
- Thinking clearly and producing work under pressure.
- Working independently while developing judgment about when and how it is appropriate to seek advice.
- Participate effectively in various collective forums (seminars, workshops, discussions, small group exercises).
- Presenting research and other scholarly work to others.
|
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Andy Aitchison
Tel: (0131 6)51 4563
Email: andy.aitchison@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ginny Spencer
Tel: (0131 6)51 4246
Email: Ginny.Spencer@ed.ac.uk |
|
© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 12 January 2015 4:17 am
|
University Homepage