Book Review: Criminologies of the Military: Militarism, National Security and Justice
Criminologies of the Military: Militarism, National Security and Justice
Edited by Ben Wadham and Andrew Goldsmith
Onati International Series in Law and Society, Hart Publishing, UK, 2018,
ISBN 1509904867, 224pp
Reviewed by: Dr David Mount
In Criminologies of the Military, Wadham and Goldsmith have set themselves a formidable task: to encapsulate the concept of crime committed by, within and against military (and military-like) entities in order to better understand the sources and natures of those crimes and the various responses to them. As a volume of the Onati International Series in Law and Society, this publication has been compiled for a broad global readership and, as such, its contributing authors are drawn from a cross-section of academic/ professional disciplines and countries. In this reviewer’s opinion, the editors have generally achieved an appropriate balance between discussions of criminological theory and case study applications.
The chapters of the publication have largely been derived from papers presented at an International Institute for the Sociology of Law workshop convened in 2014. As a result, the chapters are authored by scholars from Britain, Germany, Canada and Australia, with each giving a particular national perspective on issues raised and discussed. For Australian readers, the criminology, criminal justice and law scholarship of Ben Wadham, Willem de Lint, Andrew Goldsmith, Mark Halsey, Grant Niemann, Yorick Smaal and Graham Willett may be familiar.
The Australian contributors to the volume provide unique perspectives on the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and a number of particular criminological issues associated with militaries operating in an increasingly complex 21st century global construct. For example, Australian Army Journal readers are likely to be engaged by Grant Niemann’s examination of the intersection of international criminal law and national military law, and particularly his supporting use of an ADF case study. Equally, Ben Wadham’s examination of the Australian Defence Force Academy Skype affair and issues associated with perceptions of dominant masculine cultures and criminological theories is likely to incite thought and debate amongst a military readership.
If this reviewer has one criticism of the publication, it is the relative emphasis that is placed on attempting to reinforce the merits of considering military institutions and their intra-relations and external associations from a criminological perspective. While it is accepted that consideration of militaries from this perspective is relatively new (in comparison to more traditional sociological or psychological viewpoints), the argument becomes somewhat laboured. It is unlikely, for example, that a general military readership will be engaged by the nuanced theoretical/methodological discussions that dominate several of the chapters. It is more likely that the chapters dedicated to an exploration of a specific aspect of criminal conduct in a military context or systemic responses to such conduct will garner more interest amongst a general military readership.
In overview, Criminologies of the Military provides a broad introduction to an emerging scholarly construct: the consideration of military (and quasi- military) organisations and the actions of their members from a criminological perspective. This publication is likely to appeal to readers with an interest in the relationships between the military and the society it serves, and between the individual’s rights/freedoms and the degree to which such concepts are subordinated when wearing a uniform. This publication is a worthy addition to the scholarly consideration of the roles and relationships of the military in an increasingly complex global and social construct.
