The Paradigm of Governing Through Crime; a Case Study of Iran's Criminal Policy Toward Disruption in the Economic System
Document Type : Original Article
Author
PhD in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Crime control policies and criminalization are affected by various factors, which in some cases do not necessarily follow public interests, and based on critical criminological research are formulated and implemented in order to secure the interests of ruling class. When faced with social, political and economic crises, governments use different strategies in response to public opinion, one of which is the use of crime control mechanisms in crisis management. This article examines the paradigm of governance through crime in Iran's criminal policy, focusing on economic crimes and disruption of the economic system. Governance through crime as an approach in which governments use criminalization, punishment, and criminal tools for social control, crisis management, and strengthening political legitimacy, has found several manifestations in Iran's criminal policy. In this regard special attention has been paid to the role of the media as a tool for legitimizing criminal policies, strengthening the security discourse, and influencing public opinion. This study, using the qualitative method and analysis of legislative, judicial and executive discourse, and analyzing interviews of policymakers and law enforcers in the field of macroeconomic crimes, shows that the widespread use of tools such as strict criminalization’s, severe punishments including execution, and the use of mechanisms Punishment to manage economic crises has led to a kind of authoritarian and irresponsible governance. At the same time, by exerting pressure on the private sector in the fight against economic corruption, these policies have had consequences such as weakening economic competition and reducing efficiency in the economic arena.
Keywords
1- Alini, E. . "A study of the roots and structural processes of economic and financial corruption in Iran (The period of the Islamic Republic)", Social Development & Welfare Planning, 13, 51, 2022, 219-254. doi: 10.22054/qjsd.2022.65156.2281 (in Persian)
2- Arasti, Z., Zandi, F. & Bahmani, N. Business failure factors in Iranian SMEs: Do successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs have different viewpoints?. J Glob Entrepr Res 4, 10 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-014-0010-7
3- Bloom, Tina, and Gay A. Bradshaw. "Inside of a prison: How a culture of punishment prevents rehabilitation." Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 28.1 (2022): 140.
4- Bornstein, Avram. "Antiterrorist policing in New York City after 9/11: Comparing perspectives on a complex process." Human Organization 64.1 (2005): 52-61.
5- Cere, Rinella, Yvonne Jewkes, and Thomas Ugelvik. "Media and crime." The Routledge handbook of European criminology (2014): 266-279
6- Christie, Nils (1981) Limits to Pain. Oxford: Martin Roberston
7- Duce, Alan. "The Criminal and the Penal System—A Scapegoat for Guilt?." Contact 83.1 (1984): 19-22
8- Evans, Jennifer C. "Hijacking civil liberties: The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001." Loy. U. Chi. LJ 33 (2001): 933.
9- Etzioni, Amitai. "NSA: National security vs. individual rights." Intelligence and National Security 30.1 (2015): 100-136.
10- Fitzgibbon, Wendy, and John Lea. Privatising justice: The security industry, war and crime control. London: Pluto Press, 2020
11- Foucault, Michel. 1977. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon
12- Garland, David. 2001a. The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in a Contemporary Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
13- Hall, Stuart, Charles Critcher, Tony Jefferson, John Clarke, and Brian Robert. 1978. Policing the Crisis. London: Macmillan.
14- Hinnebusch, Raymond. "The US invasion of Iraq: Explanations and implications." Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies 16.3 (2007): 209-228.
15- Hogg, Russell. "Criminology, crime and politics before and after 9/11." Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 40.1 (2007): 83-10
16- Knepper, Paul. "Criminology and social policy." (2007): 1-208.
16- Knepper, Paul. "Criminology and social policy." (2007): 1-208.
17- Moghadasi, M. B. , and Farajiha, M. . "Characteristics of Penal Populist Policies: A Comparative Study", Comparative Law Review, 4, 2, 2014, 137-155. doi: 10.22059/jcl.2014.36317 (in Persian)
18- Muller, Christopher, and Christopher Wildeman. "Punishment and inequality." The Sage handbook of Punishment and Society, London, Sage (2013): 169-185.
18- Muller, Christopher, and Christopher Wildeman. "Punishment and inequality." The Sage handbook of Punishment and Society, London, Sage (2013): 169-185.
19- Rahmanian, H. , and Habibzadeh, M. J. . "Penal Instrumentalism; Domain, Concept, Indicators", Journal of Criminal Law Research, 2, 5, 2014, 47-71. (in Persian)
20- Razavi, S. A. , and rasouli Amirabadi, M. . "Investigation of New Strategies for Selling Iranian Crude Oil with Anti-Sanctions Approach", Economic Strategy, 7, 24, 2018, 151-176. (in Persian)
21- Roberts, Paul Craig. How America Was Lost: From 9/11 to the Police/Welfare State. Atwell Publishing, 2014.
21- Roberts, Paul Craig. How America Was Lost: From 9/11 to the Police/Welfare State. Atwell Publishing, 2014.
22- Schultz, David. "Democracy on Trial: Terrorism, Crime, and National Security Policy in a Post 9-11 World." Golden Gate University Law Review 38.2 (2008): 2.
23- Simon, J. (2007). Governing through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear. Oxford University Press.
24- Simon, Jonathan. "After the culture of fear: Fear of crime in the United States half a century on." The Routledge international handbook on fear of crime (2017): 82-92.
25-Taylor, Ian, Paul Walton, and Jock Young, eds. Critical criminology. Routledge, 2011.
Thompson, E. P. 1975. Whigs and Hunters: The Origins of the Black Act. New York: Pantheon
25-Taylor, Ian, Paul Walton, and Jock Young, eds. Critical criminology. Routledge, 2011.
Thompson, E. P. 1975. Whigs and Hunters: The Origins of the Black Act. New York: Pantheon
