Applying Psychological Theories of Crime - Assignment Example

Applying Psychological Theories of Crime Name: Course: History has its own records and among them are most prominent articles covered by media. There have been crime and/or criminal events which always takes a chunk of space. In today’s society crime has been covered almost on a daily occurrence and taking replica of events of the past. Based on this background a spate of media coverage on renowned Bosnia warlord Radovan Karadzic has been in the offing and this article is specifically base on the media articles covered by Professor Ramic in response of the Bosniaks to the decision of the International Court of Justice hence detailing the issue of Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is therefore worth noting that crime is a heinous act committed against a certain prescribed condition or entity. Thus the utmost resultant effect that can be cause by crime can be in culmination of devastating outcomes such as genocides. This is what took place in the war crimes committed by the mastermind Karadzic Radovan among others in the infamous Bosnia and Herzegovina. Whatever took place in the region was as a result of a persistent agitation for freedom from oppression and dictatorship which had been rampant. Ethnic tension prevailed as regard leadership and independence. Some ethnic groups outnumbered others. People had been informed by history on the nature and manner they had co-existed among themselves. They had for a very long time looked at each other with suspicion and with an urge to take on vengeance. With these attributes coming to light, it would be prudent to examine and analyze in this article the description of Karadzic Radovan and the nature of the offences he committed. This will be based on the psychological theories of crime utilized by the author in the articles specifically taking into consideration social learning and developmental theories. The succinct words used by Professor Emir Ramic to aptly describes the warlord- Karadzic Radovan- simply reiterate the position of literature articles covered here that indeed Karadzic Radovan was a former Serb leader (Sullivan 2009) who played a major role in the Bosnia and Herzegovina war (Day et al. 2002). It is on this pedestal that analysis of this offender should be based on social learning theory which will aid in bringing out the full knowledge of what actually transpired such as to cause this person to commit crime against humanity. On this backdrop the analysis that follows intend to bring out a theoretical process that will aid in finding a viable solution to the problems. On the other hand the developmental theory will also come in handy to give the background transition in age factors and behavioral change as influenced by the surrounding. The chronological event during the life time of Radovan indicates that he had been brought up in a hostile environment that captured mostly aspects of struggle and war. Radovan was born in the year 1945, a time synonymous with the Second World War. Most of the nations in Europe were undergoing transformation following the war and specifically the Soviet Union living in trying times and people were agitating to be freed from oppression and dictatorship. This account can be attributed to the struggle in which Radovan’s father portrayed in the historical account that he had fought the alongside the Chetniks to resist the Nazi as well as against Tito’s leadership (Day et al. 2002). Radovan’s father had his interests at heart and he fought to liberate himself together with his people. Radovan joined the Serb Nationalism as the basis for political ground (Sullivan 2009). These actions could not be lesser or in contradiction to what surmounted the pinnacle of Radovan’s involvement in war activity during his time. Radovan’s family never had peaceful co-existence. Life during the period was harsh and eventually when he was fifteen years of age they shifted their base to search for greener pasture (Day et al. 2002). Fortunately Radovan was able to obtain good education and he qualified to become a psychiatrist. But to Radovan, life was not going on swimmingly and at one particular point he was charged for getting involved in corruption scandal (Day et al. 2002). On this premise, the foregoing indicates Radovan’s life chronology and brings out clearly the manner in which criminality was instilled in him since on set. This aspect came as a result of his network in socialization in which case he was influenced by relationship with his family as well as experience from harsh conditions at the time. Radovan saw life has being cruel and so he adopted cruelty as a lifestyle. Radovan criminal behavior were developed at this juncture. The entry of multi-party politics afforded opportunities for those who felt that the country needed change in every sphere. This though was the entry point to let the suppressed tendencies of criminality to become dominant and show its true colours. At this point, Radovan engaged in politics and it is during this period that he had an opportunity to cofound the Serbian Democratic Party (Day et al. 2002). Now in politics thing went from bad to worse. The representation of people in a country filled with hatred and suspicion did not auger well with smooth sailing of Radovan leadership. Indeed he strongly opposed the split of Bosnia and Herzegovina amid agitation and euphoria for independence and split. Radovan was of the opinion the Serbs were few and could easily be manipulated in decision making mechanism an attribute of democracy (Day et al. 2002). The political temperature was rising very fast amid the referendum on independence. Radovan had taken strategic position and influenced the boycott of the Serbians in voting. In 1992 at the brink of war, he was elected the President for the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Day et al. 2002). This became the fundamental basis upon which atrocities and war crimes were committed. Despite international intervention and pressure to settle issues amicably, Radovan did not bow to the pressure. It was not until the Dayton Agreement that things begun to change for better from the heinous acts attributed to Radovan regime (Ball 2002). Incidentally, the genocides perceived to have been committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina dates back from 1922 to the spate of those committed by Radovan who was born sometime in 1945. According to Emir (2012) this acts of aggression amounted to crime against humanity in terms of peace and safety. On the other hand, the genocide committed during the Radovan period was premeditated on the earlier extremist ideologies of fascist which had in its policies a tendency of genocide practices such that there was a consistent need to conquer war to secure territories (Emir 2012). Whatever can be perceive from what transpired is that joint criminal entities came together to form a formidable force that represented a huge machinery that facilitated their work with ease such as the use of military, snipers and mercenaries to carry out the genocide activities (Emir 2012). This was trend of social influence from interacting with like minded criminals. Indeed Radovan emanated as a genocide leader in his capacity (Weine 1999). The things that were guiding the leadership during this period were the policies and ideologies developed to achieve certain specific goals such as that of protecting the territory of Serbs with a scheme to exterminate the Bosniacs or rather reduce them into a lesser ethnic group of people. According to (Nettelfield 2010) Radovan had pointed out that the 20,000 armed Serbs were to destroy a whooping population of 300,000 Muslim people. The tactic was devised to allow the aggression to thrive such that the criminal element of joint criminal enterprise sufficed in the following manner; the intended constitutional plan of the incumbent party was mutilated in totality hence bringing in new dispensation that would make new orders thrive, mode of carrying out the war crime was conceived such that disarmament exercise took place in the region and a great central army of Serbs established and so was the extermination of the Muslim Bosnia to take effect (Emir 2012). The plans portrayed above took a centre stage in determining the kind of situation the people were and the status in which they were at the time. It was imminent that ideological schemes was important in order to lay down the relevant platform for political, economic and social we fare of the people such that it would prepare the populace to conform with them (Emir 2012). The social development in this realm of life had different view from those in other area and change would only be made possible through blood shade as they perceived therefore the planned attacks on civilian population ascribing to different ideologies including religion as in the case of Bosniac who became susceptible in the attack. Therefore according to (Emir 2012) well organized attacks were planned in advance from administrative and military units such that the objectives were laid down and the perpetrators of the crime needed not hide their identity. It was a course worth taking as they perceived at the time in order to liberate themselves. Just has Radovan had been doing his counterparts in the Belgrade and Zagreb regimes had been doing the same exercise of planned attacks and execution (Emir 2012). Bad political ideologies made the respective leaders to mount attacked based on inhuman grounds. The social stratification had caused people to agitate for change and at the period they did not call for equality as human being but saw other as enemies worthy to be made extinct. The followers of Radovan political ideology were staunch supporters of antifascism during the second world war but they had change their position during this liberation struggle in which they embraced the fascism policies (Emir 2012). But subsequent remarks from the world at large made their positions known to these leaders in that they had committed crimes against humanity and which was punishable. As a result the search for the mastermind took place later culminating to the establishment of Special Trial chambers at The Hague for the Yugolsavia-The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia- which also tried Milosevic (Sullivan 2009). Therefore Radovan was charge with eleven counts of crime against humanity. However according to (Congressional Records) Radovan would often insist that he is exempted from the proceedings in court. Furthermore he denies vehemently that he ever engage in any act that could amount to him committing genocide as well as other war crimes. A notion that still depict the kind of character he possessed such that he can even question the jurisdiction of the courts and demands that he is exempted from the same. These are strategies of those drunk with power and authority but will not suffice to let him off the hook. Conclusion Criminal acts possessed by individuals such as Radovan emanates from a certain social or behavioral origin. At the pinnacle of power Radovan had used his position to foster his people interests as well as his personal aggrandizements. The criminality ingrained in him came out loud. At no particular time would one say that the exercise of power was fair especially when it is a transformation of the larger society. It is imminent the change is inevitable but such will be accompanied with some form of benefits or detriments. Radovan’s views, opinion or interests was at par with those of his people but against the world at large and the principles of humanity. They all had deviant behaviors. Now Radovan has been undergoing trial for the atrocities he committed during the war. Punitive measures are waiting to be paid. He is a hero among his people but an enemy to the world. The criminal acts that came out of Radovan were as a result of society in which he was brought up in. What he captured or perceived as a passion in life was misconceived from the onset from his social life interaction. Radovan had learnt how to commit crime from tender age and his attitude and motivation was develop along the line of crime. At this juncture, I must point out that interest of people vary considerably to the extent that extreme measure becomes the dictate of the day. But at the end of it all the priorities in life will conform one to certain human standards and principles. Remember that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Human beings have inherent criminal tendencies as well as self interest in their endeavors and these are the attributes portrayed by the likes of Radovan. If you ponder on this, on what basis and/or interest was the invasion of Iraq and Libya based, then it won’t be fatal to attribute failure in humanity’s leadership and interest. International law is taking root and its force of law is being felt everywhere. The crime of genocide and other human atrocities should not be condoned at this time and age since the society is becoming heterogeneous as contradistinction to the homogenous society that had long been an attribute of dividing people along religious and ethnic lines. It is high time that the law becomes applicable on a horizontal plane such as to subject everyone within the same parameters. It is from the past experience that history can provide as the basis upon which we can analyze our future steps and gain solutions to problems. World leadership should become conscious of the rights and interests of humanity and aspire to promote and protect them. Responsible leadership should take precedence and no room should be allowed for fanatics and killers. We all need a world full of peace and tranquility. The above concluding remarks emanates from the interpretation of the theories analyzed in the article which dictate the change in social phenomenon. while this was a very interesting historical account of the Bosnian atrocities, I think that you did not focus on what the assignment was asking you to do sufficiently. It was an interesting idea to look at genocide and war crimes, however, I think what you should have done, rather than giving the extensive background to these incidents was to firstly focus on the extent to which genocide can be understood within our theories of crime which to me is a very interesting point but one not really covered here. You could have then moved on to a more specific discussion of two of the theories we have discussed and whether these can help explain why people take part in such atrocities. Certainly the social learning/differential association account might have been of relevance here. Perhaps to some extent these acts become normalized when everyone is doing them. The social pressure to take part would be strong, and I wonder if this is anything that other researchers have looked at. You also tocuh on the developmental precursors of Radovan but you did not relate this strongly enough to the existing literature. I also noticed you seemed to have a little difficulty in expressing your ideas. Perhaps you might consider contacting student services. Assignment 2: Applying psychological theories of crime: Marking criteria You will receive a mark out of 40 for this assignment.  Marks will be allocated as follows: Quality of argument (70%) 10/28 Poor Average Good Very good Exceptional Appropriateness of the article you choose, and the clarity and precision of your analysis and evaluation X Depth of analysis and interpretation of the research literature X Depth of analysis and interpretation of the theories of crime you address X Extent to which your solution is theory based X Research skills (10%) 3/4 Evidence of wide reading X Use of appropriate references  X Literacy and writing skills (10%) 2/4 Demonstrated ability to write clearly  X Use of clear and logical argument X Professionalism (10%) 2.5/4 Demonstrated ability to write in an academic, rather than colloquial or journalistic style X Demonstrated ability to present your work in a tidy and clean manner X Final mark/grade 17.5/40 Reference Ball, H. (2002). War Crimes and Justice: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. Cullen, F., Wright, P & Blevin, K. (2006). Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological Theory. Transaction Publishers. Day, A. J., East, R., & Thomas, R. (2002). A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe. Routledge. Emir, R. (2012). Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada. Farrington, D. (2005). Integrated Developmental & Life-course Theories of Offending. Transaction Publishers. Ferguson, R. (2005). The Handy History Answer Book. Visible Ink Press. Congressional Record: Proceedings and debates of the 111th Congress First Session: Vol. 155 Part 8. Government Printing Office. Kolsto, P. (2009). Media Discourse and the Yugoslav Conflicts: Representations of Self and Other. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Korte, B. (2009). Represented Reporters: Images of War Correspondents in Memoirs and Fiction. Transcript Verlag. Nettlefield, L. (2010). Courting Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Hague Tribunal’s Impact in a Postwar State. Cambridge University Press. Sullivan, K. (2009). Slobodan Milosovic’s Yugoslavia. Twenty-First Century Books. Weine, S. (1999). When History Is A Nightmare: Lives and Memories of Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Rutgers University Press. Read More