Comparative Criminology of Modern View

Abstract

An overview of the recently revived discipline of comparative criminology is the aim of this chapter. It starts by going over the background and context of comparative criminology then moves on to describe the modern comparative viewpoint. The chapter outlines the typical methods for doing comparative criminological research after outlining several frequently advanced goals for the field, such as theory development and testing and policy review and critique. The primary theoretical traditions of comparative criminology are first reviewed, with a focus on structural theories rooted in culture, social bonds, and the distribution of economic resources, as well as metanarratives like modernization, civilization, opportunity, and world system theories. Next, the chapter addresses methodological issues by summarizing some of the more popular dependent variables that comparative criminologists have studied and noting how these variables have been operationalized in the literature. It then examines the three methodological approaches metalevel, parallel, and case studies that are most frequently used in the field. Data regarding crime and justice worldwide are now more available than ever because of the expansion of international "transparency" and the World Wide Web's information-dissemination capabilities. The three most prevalent forms of data on international crime and justice officials, victimization, and self-report data are covered in this chapter along with the risks to each type's validity and dependability. Interested readers are directed to current sources of information pertinent to commonly used explanatory concepts. The chapter concludes by noting that although globalization and worries about transnational crime have contributed to the growth of comparative criminology as a field of study, the discipline is still in its infancy because systematic comparative work in criminology was largely neglected during the 20th century. Renaissance, in theory, is needed to support growth in this promising field of study so that theory drives research rather than just additional data.