Globalization has become the most debated and fashionable topic since the 1990s. A diverse and wide range of social theorists argues that the world today is organized by accelerating globalization. The world capitalist economic system has dominated, supplanting the nation-states’ primacy with transnational organizations and cooperation, thus eroding the local traditions and cultures through a new global culture. Marxists, functionalists, Weberian, world-systems theorists, and other contemporary theorists accept that globalization is a distinguishing trend of the present time. This paper discusses the process of globalization and how it has impacted international crime and criminal behavior. The paper also attempts to present some evidence to support the discussion on international crime.
Criminal behavior
For the concept of criminal behavior to exists, the concept of crime must first exist. Anti-social behavior cannot be referred to as criminal behavior unless there is a system of criminal law. The theories that exist in criminology are, therefore, he theory to explain criminal behavior. None of the theories can truly describe the reason why the behavior is considered as criminal. This implies that criminologist needs to come up with a theory of crime to help in explaining the development and the origin of criminal law in society.
The legal theory of crime
The primitive law is used as the basic concept to explain crime. The shift in the legal institution transitioned from primitive law to state law. The primitive law is used to often to refer to violation of customs related to primitive social norms. This system of law does not work the same as the modern system of criminal law unless forced. The kinship unit has been replaced by the state, as the punisher or prosecutor. According to E.A Hoebel, increased civilization also increases the need for law. The tribe only needs, and kinship and not law as social relations are intimate and face-to-face. Globalization has resulted in the growth of a culture that also forced society to shift from primitive law to state law in order to punish the increased crimes.
Globalization and criminal behavior
The globalization concept has drastically changed everything in the world as it has affected all the life aspects of the whole society in the world. The dark side of it is that it has added a new dimension to criminal and terrorism behaviors. Because of globalization, people have developed deviant behaviors and provided an avenue for the criminals to facilitate their activities. Globalization has resulted in a complex network of illicit markets, including drugs and human organs, prostitution, trafficking of arms, smuggling, slavery, and cybercrime. The globalization process has resulted in distinct challenges to the world order system. Such an order which considers the state as its basic unit has a definite territorial border. As it has been argued, technology and globalization have created uncontrolled spaces outside the border state. Much of these space has been the integration of world financial market on an extraordinary scale through the creation of the new computer-based technology.
The cyberspace is circulating almost trillions of dollars. Electronic means are sending child pornography. Electronic means are also used to do money-laundering at incredible speeds, which is a threat to the world economy. As electronic commerce increases, the possibility of fraud, counterfeit products, and other crimes linked to these markets has increased. The illicit drug industry has also been boosted by the speed to which the world trade has increased. Undoubtedly, all these crime challenges have posed a threat to national and international security. Criminal groups and terrorists have taken advantage of these uncontrolled spaces from globalization to expand their activities to all territories.
The international organized crimes chose to globalize their activities due to the same reasons as legitimate multinationals. The illicit businesses also try to gain the maximum advantage of raw materials and labor through establishing branches globally. The advancements in technology have resulted in the growth of illicit transnational activities. The telecommunication improvements (including internet, fax telephone) and airline traffic growth have helped the movement of goods and people, thus facilitating the illicit trade. Crime groups use the space of the internet to exploit the communications chat room to execute their operations. Goede (2013) indicates that the terrorists bought their tickets to attack in 9/11 by sending messages through public access computers. In the same way, encrypted telecommunications were used by the Columbian drug traffickers to execute their plans.
The globalization ideology of free trades and free markets has led to a decline in state intervention (Corraya, 2015). The globalization process has led to increased interactions of trade regulations, which has also increased people’s investments and trade all over the world. These are the reasons that facilitated international crimes. Crime groups have taken this advantage to exploit the law enforcement and border controls, thus gaining the freedom to broaden their activities in the new territories in the world. Every day, communication and contacts have increased at a very high speed. This growth of legal trade results in loopholes or spaces in the states’ legal systems. Criminals tend to base their business and activities in the territories where the states are corrupt and ineffective in their laws. Crime groups launder and inflow money in the states’ banks with lesser control over the bank secrecy. Crime groups and terrorists segment their work to reduce the operational risks and gain the advantage of globalization.
Lutz and Lutz (2015) argue that in recent years since the 1990s have seen the rise in globalized forms globally. The trade of drugs is the first illicit industry to maximize their benefits in the globalized world. Most of the crime groups and terrorists source their funding from trafficking drugs were they gain huge profits. However, drug trafficking awareness increased, and the competition in the market increased, forcing governing bodies to intervene and control the market through enforcing laws, which in response increased the risk of trading in drugs. This slowed down the pace of drug trafficking and reduced the profits gained in such deals and made the criminals search for an alternative from the global economy. The criminals then benefited financially from increased trade of arms trafficking. The crime groups and terrorists have also benefited from an enormous raise in the illegal trade of stolen antiques and arts, endangered species, counterfeiting, hazardous waste, and other forms of crime associated with credit cards. All these activities help the crime group and terrorists to gain huge profits.
Turkewitz (2016) suggests that globalization has helped to serve all sorts of transnational crimes with a setup of major service industries being involved. This involves facilitating the providers with money to be laundered, falsified documents, and highly qualified professionals providing legal and financial accounting to the crime groups. This trend, for example, is depicted in the case of Riggs bank in Washing ton, DC in which most of its important clients such as the president of U.S and other diplomatic officials from all over the world were prosecuted for being linked with the Equatorial Guinea dictator, and for approving funds transfer to criminals and terrorists. They were later fined $25 million. This case shows how globalization and technology have helped even the legitimate big institutions to facilitate the operations carried out by criminals and terrorists.
Globalization is the reason for increased human trafficking, with most of the victims coming from Europe and others from the rest of the world. The purpose of human trafficking is to exploit them sexually and for labor, especially child labor. Human trafficking is highly profitable, especially for children. The perpetrators have taken advantage of globalization and improved technology in communication to fish the variety of women worldwide. The victims are promised employment in Europe or other parts of the world with entertainment networks and fashion agencies used to deceive the victims.
Case studies
Bangladeshi victims trafficked to Yemen
The Department of Immigration had imprisoned a group of Bangladeshis waiting for departure to Yemen. This forced the government to investigate more than 3,000 Bangladesh nationals who were illegally trafficked to Yemen. The “brokers” and criminals in Bangladesh gather employees from Bangladesh and take them to Yemen, giving them tourist visas and promising them jobs to be paid a monthly salary ranging above $500. These criminals and brokers then engage them in illegal jobs that even inferior to they expected.
Forced labor and Prostitution: Human trafficking in Bangladesh
United States Department of State (2013) reported that Bangladesh had become the point of transit for many victims in human trafficking in South Asia. According to Kate (2014), girls and boys as young as nine years are indulged in prostitution. Haas (2011) says that many of these teenagers are taken to brothels and fed with steroids to attract customers. The trafficking for men is mostly for forced labor that is cheap and for criminal activities such as the sale of organs, running drugs, and pornography. In regard to women, trafficking is used for prostitution. Human trafficking in Bangladesh is done for the forced labor market and the sex trade. The boys and girls involved in this market are less than ten and sixteen, respectively.
Conclusion
Criminal behavior due to globalization has posed risks and challenges, having its deep roots in many states. The globalization process and new technology advancements have created connections of previously separated criminal behaviors, which led to illegal markets. Also, globalization has increased criminal and terrorists’ activities across national territories. International conversations and dialogues are required to increase awareness and understanding of these issues. The universal legalization has predicted some vital solutions to these issues. If the world joins hands and works collectively, these criminal behaviors can be eliminated and the illicit trades ended and help to attain a sustainable future.