Crimes of States and Powerful Elites

A collection of case studies investigating the crimes of the powerful, the social harms caused and the perpetuation of inequalities through lack of prosecution.

Crimes of States and Powerful Elites explores fourteen case studies of state crime and immoralities of the powerful, including disasters caused by neglect, pharmaceutical fraud, state-sponsored or instigated crime, corporate crime, organisational crime, and state terrorism. The book offers a valuable contribution to critical social science perspectives on criminality, providing analysis which explores issues of accountability and social harm while linking these to wider structural contexts, particularly the role of neoliberal ideologies.

At the same time, the book provides a critical perspective on historical case studies which continue to have legacies in the present. These case studies help to shed light on histories of domination and inequalities, illustrating both continuities and changes in crimes of the powerful over time.