Interconnected Society – Interconnected (Criminal) Law.

Abstract

The rhizome is an infinite, dynamic root network without a main branch. It is not just a scientific term that describes the growth of fungi; the image of the rhizome also reflects today’s interconnectedness of society driven by globalisation and digitisation. This article explores how rhizomatic structures are currently mirrored in criminal law (scholarship). First a distinction is drawn between the rhizomatic perspective and existing theoretical concepts for the description of global dependencies, such as the “world (risk) society”. Second the article analyses how new criminal norms are needed to address newly created vulnerabilities. Such novel global vulnerabilities include e.g., computer crimes. Further, it is explained how a world-wide interconnectedness of vulnerabilities may lead to a convergence of criminal law standards. The paper concludes by advocating for an interconnected criminal law scholarship.