Reza Barmaki

On the Origin of the Concept of “Deviant Subculture” in Criminology: W. I. Thomas and the Chicago School of Sociology

ABSTRACT “Deviant subculture” has been a key concept in sociology of deviance and crime for a long time. It has often been argued that Albert K. Cohen was the person who first developed the concept. However, this article argues that the concept first emerged in the work of the Chicago School of Sociology and that W. I. Thomas’ notion of “the definition of the situation” was at the core of it. The notion allowed Thomas to redefine the problem of deviance and crime from one caused by psychological and physiological defects to one caused by normative disorganization.

On the Origin of “Labeling” Theory in Criminology: Frank Tannenbaum and the Chicago School of Sociology

ABSTRACT According to the criminological literature, Frank Tannenbaum’s theory of “The Dramatization of Evil” was the first formulation of an approach to deviance that in the 1960s became known as the “labeling” theory. This paper makes three arguments about Tannenbaum’s theory. Firstly, it explains professional criminality. Secondly, the conceptual foundation for the theory is provided by John Dewey, William I. Thomas, Ernest W. Burgess, Clifford R. Shaw, and Charles H. Cooley. Thirdly, it is in fact prefigured in the work of Thomas, Shaw, and Burgess. The first argument is an answer to an enduring question related to “labeling” theory: does it explain professional criminality or any form of social deviance? The second argument negates a long-standing belief held by criminologists, i.e., that George H. Mead was the conceptual progenitor of Tannenbaum’s theory. The third argument refutes the persistent belief that Tannenbaum’s theory was the first formulation of labeling theory.

Torture, Judaism and the Law

The increasing publicity of the United States’ use of torture, domestically and abroad, has sparked a lively debate regarding the American values and laws and permissibility of torture. The Jewish scholarly community has been a vocal part of this debate. This paper begins by providing a concise account of the existing laws regarding torture internationally and in the US. It then highlights the Jewish rabbinic community’s involvement in the debate. It then proceeds to provide an account of torture in Judaism that outlines the existing legalistic and theological understandings of it. It will end by proffering a theological account of torture that is hoped to be novel.

Security, life, and death: governmentality and biopower in the post 9/11 era

Southern Philippines. Virginie André sketches how a sense of ‘supraterritoriality is increasingly encroaching into the political discourse’ of Thailand’s Malay Muslims and how, since 2004, ‘a traditionalist ethno-nationalist struggle... has morphed into a local jihadist movement’ (p. 109). For the insurgents the issue is no longer about restoring the traditional Malay power elites of the border provinces. Instead they are fighting what Juergensmeyer calls a cosmic war where a peculiar set of circumstances fuses religion to violence, operationalized when a ‘certain degree of alienation is reached’ (p. 115). This is also reflected in a rhetorical shift whereby Thais are no longer referred to as colonialists but infidels, replicating the parlay of insurgents in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Chechnya and creating associations with other repressed Muslims in Kashmir and Palestine. Her conclusion is that while the Muslim minority would be naïve in assuming it can force a secession from Thailand, the government in Bangkok is no longer able to dictate what kind of Islam is practised in the South (although Purdey’s characterization of the conflict in terms of jihadism would vindicate the government’s cooperation with the US-led War on Terror). Peter Sales too argues that the situation of the Southern Philippines’ Muslims needs to be understood in a wider regional context, but questions whether religious and cultural factors are the sole determinants of the crisis. Instead of reducing the issue to a ‘Moro Problem’, as Manila tends to do, his expanded interpretation criticizes ASEAN along similar lines as Camilleri. Sales also takes a close look at the role of the US, which presents itself as an arbiter, while simultaneously acting as a stakeholder: ‘Former President Arroyo’s support for the war on terrorism dangerously internationalized tensions in Mindanao and allowed the US to reassert its presence there’ to protect its interests as part of ‘the rivalry with China for regional power’ (p. 163). In his closing meditation on tools of conflict and levers of cohesion, Syed Muhammad Khairudin Aljuneid recapitulates the interaction of the global and the local, making a case for the need of regional initiatives, perhaps not so much from ASEAN, which is hindered by its own articles of association and lack of political will on part of the member states, but initiatives from the grassroots. Such considerations also require a different perspective of observation, away from episodes of violence and with more attention for everyday interaction, putting forward ‘a vision of society freed from the use and abuse of religion and culture for political and economic ends’ (p. 190).

Jon Wolseth, Jesus and the Gang: Youth Violence and Christianity in Urban Honduras

Celso Sánchez Capdequí is a professor of sociology at the Public University of Pamplona (Navarre). His field is social theory and sociology of religion, with a specialization in the creativity of action. His books include Imaginación y sociedad: una hermenéutica creativa de la cultura (1999); Las máscaras del dinero: el simbolismo social de la riqueza (2004); and En los límites de la confusión: miedos, riesgos y urgencias de la sociedad de la información (2010). He is currently working on a book about values and multiples modernities. Address: c/Biarritz, No28-7oA, Bilbao 48002, Spain. Email: celso.sanchez@unavarra.es.

Murder in Judaism: A Theological Perspective

Abstract This article provides a theological account of murder, that is, its significance within the broader context of God’s plan for creation. It argues that God’s prohibition of murder, understood as abuse of the powerless, is due to God’s broader concern with the maintenance of cosmic justice (cosmic harmony), which is required for the preservation of creation. Murder detracts from God’s cosmic justice in that it damages an aspect of justice that is related to human beings: social justice. Social justice is achieved through protection of the weak. In short, murder, as the ultimate act of oppression of the weak, constitutes social injustice and results in the disruption of God’s cosmic harmony.

Poker: The Parody of Capitalism

Since the 1980s, the gambling industry has undergone a massive growth worldwide. This has been partly due to the gradual legitimation and legalization of gambling, and the advent of affordable home computers and internet, which have allowed for online gaming. This growth has been particularly noticeable in the area of poker. In a mere decade, this American card game has become a global phenomenon involving millions people and billions of dollars. Ole Bjerg’s Poker: The Parody of Capitalism takes a look at this development. The basic argument of the book is that poker mirrors financial capitalism. This is derived from the general principle that games are fundamentally a ‘‘cultural expression’’ of ‘‘a set of existential conditions of life’’ (p. 1). This principle is based on Baudrillard’s notion of parody, which means that games generally simulate features of the ordinary world without the concomitant ideological baggage to justify those features. This notion, in turn, is a more nuanced version of the old Marxian belief that the ideological superstructure reflects and justifies the economic infrastructure. Thus, parody reflects the economic superstructure but dispenses with its ideological counterparts. For example, Bjerg argues that the circulation of money in poker resembles that of financial capitalism. Similar to financial capitalism, poker is an unfair, inefficient, and unproductive means of distribution of wealth. However, unlike capitalism, it dispenses with any ideological discourse that either asserts the contrary or aims to justify it. Furthermore, poker players are said to display key psychological traits of financial capitalists: a winner/loser attitude toward life expressed in ruthless competitiveness, calculated risktaking, and feigned imperturbability. In short, ‘‘poker simulates core features of contemporary capitalism and displays these in a very pure form. Poker functions as a parody of capitalism’’ (p. 2). Bjerg also uses the term ‘‘structural homologies’’ (p. 203) to refer to such similarities. The book is divided into four parts, each containing two or three chapters. Part One, containing Chapters One–Three of the book, provides a philosophical analysis of poker. Chapter One gives an outline of the ontological structure of poker. Bjerg employs Slavoj Zizek’s distinction among three different ontological orders: the symbolic, the real, and the imaginary. This allows Bjerg to capture three dimensions of poker: chance, calculation, and the psychological manipulation of the opponent. The three orders are said not to coagulate into a stable structure. The rhythm of the game is determined by the oscillation between the three dimensions. The players never know if the next hand is determined by calculation of probability, bluffing, or chance. Chapter Two continues along the same lines. Using a single hand played by the poker professional Gus Hanson as an example, it demonstrates how Texas Hold ‘Em, a particular form of poker, is played. Bjerg’s aim is to introduce the basics of strategic reasoning in poker. Chapter Three concludes the philosophical analysis of Texas Hold ‘Em by using Zizek’s ontology to uncover the difficulties of poker strategies. Part Two contains Chapters Four and Five. Chapter Four describes the global poker network as an economic system for the circulation and distribution of money, where money tends to flow from weaker players (the ‘‘fish’’) to the richer and stronger ones (the ‘‘shark’’ and the ‘‘whale’’) (pp. 81-82). This is because the latter can use not only their stronger skills, but also their money to determine the size of the pot and thereby determine the flow of the game. This is said to be comparable to capitalism where the owners can use their resources to accumulate the surplus value produced by workers. Based on data from an online game provider outlining the relative proportions of different categories of winning and losing players and the different styles of playing, Chapter Five identifies five classes of players in order of increasing degree of skills and monetary resources: Leisure, ABC, Serious, Novice, and Professional. Money tends to flow from the first to the last category. 544 Reviews