Abstract
The significance of crime and law is recognised in the contemporary development
agenda, as illustrated by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which urges the
international community to ‘promote peaceful and inclusive societies…provide access
to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions’ (UN 2020a).
This stems from what is referred to as the ‘crime-development nexus,’ the belief that
crime, violence, corruption, and the absence of rule of law represent significant
obstacles to development, by undermining citizen security, decreasing trust in
governments and hampering growth and investment (Blaustein et al. 2020). As a
result, development institutions such as the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP), the World Bank, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
all promote the ‘rule of law’ and ‘good governance’ as essential to achieving
sustainable development. As this chapter highlights, this agenda can be traced back to
the aftermath of the World War II and is rooted in dual, albeit complementary, aims.
The first of these involves constructing the legal systems necessary for capitalist
development in the developing world. The second seeks to address the criminogenic
consequences of this development and, from the 1990s onwards, their impact on the
global economy.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Handbook on the Politics of International Development |
Editors | Melisa Deciancio, Pablo Nemiña, and Diana Tussie |
Place of Publication | United States |
Publisher | Elgar |
Pages | 118-130 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781839101908 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |