Criminological Theory and International Crimes: Examining the Potential

Abstract

This chapter asks what criminological theory can add to scholarship in international criminal law. After initial interest in the first half of the twentieth century, criminological attention shifted away from the activities covered by an emerging international criminal law and it is not until the 1990s that a criminological scholarship of atrocity begins to develop in earnest. As criminology is a late arrival in a field already well-covered by scholarship in law, history, political science, sociology and psychology the exercise calls for humility and openness. Criminology is no stranger to working in fields already populated by other disciplines and is characterised by its ‘incessant raiding’ of these and the resultant lack of ‘autonomy’ and outward looking attitudes has been put forward as a strength. Beyond a respectful humility in the face of existing scholarship in the field, using criminological theory in relation to atrocity requires a degree of humility in the face of events. The assumptions and starting points of several strands of criminological theory are fundamentally challenged by the systematic and mass-participatory nature of many episodes of violence falling within the remit of international criminal law. In examining the ‘canon’, much is to be questioned, adapted or abandoned. Thus, criminologists should seek to retain the relatively open borders of the discipline, using resources already absorbed and developed where appropriate, but absorbing and developing new perspectives and knowledge through encounters with others. While recognising a longstanding gap in criminology, the chapter takes two prominent examples of criminologists working on crimes under international law to show the value of applying particular strands of theoretical criminology. Following this, the chapter explores three further strands from the ‘back catalogue’ of criminological theory that highlight further potential contributions to scholarship in the field of international criminal law and some of the challenges in realising these.