The branches of green criminology

Abstract

Green criminology, broadly conceived as the interdisciplinary study of harms and crimes against the biophysical environment, has emerged as a substantive and diverse area of research. To assess the various branches of green crime scholarship, the following citation analysis uses bibliographic methods to empirically analyze and visualize the shared references, keywords, and journals. Shared references are then used to construct a network of 5,524 publications. The bibliometric approach not only permits engagement with the various branches of green criminological research but also enables analysis of the sub-discipline’s canonical roots. The Girvan Newman clustering algorithm is used to identify four branches of research. Findings conclude a series of emerging research foci and methodological approaches being employed to examine green crimes across various branches. These findings foster a disciplinary awareness for future research in green criminology.