A criminology of catastrophe: a critical analysis of imperialistic state crime and the Haiti earthquake
Date
2011-07-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Despite the devastation caused by environmental catastrophes, these phenomena have yet
to garner significant attention as a subject of criminological inquiry. This thesis is framed
by the following question: How can we problematize the notion of “natural” disaster to
arrive at a criminological understanding of human culpability in the production of harm?
I argue that the degree of human suffering caused by natural disasters is aggravated by
imperialistic state crimes, which predispose populations to conditions of vulnerability and
dependency. I substantiate this argument with an analysis of Haiti and demonstrate how
its history of imperialistic exploitation by the US amounted to a pattern of state crime
victimization that marginalized Haitians and, consequently, shaped their suffering from
the 2010 earthquake. The story of Haiti exemplifies the relationship between the
contemporary hardships of a natural disaster and the historical injustices of state crime,
thus illuminating the relevance of a criminology of catastrophe.
Description
Keywords
Natural disaster, State crime, Imperialism, Haiti