ETA and state action: the development of Spanish antiterrorism Abstract On 20 October 2011 ETA announced the ‘definitive cessation of its armed activity’, which had been increasing since shortly after its inception in 1959. On 8 April 2017 it disarmed by handing over its weapons to intermediaries from civil society. On 2 May 2018 ETA announced its dissolution. This was the end of the last ongoing armed conflict in Europe from the wave of political violence – linked to national and class disputes – that swept over the continent starting in the 1960s. This article analyses the development of Spanish antiterrorism in relation to the Basque conflict, observing how a free and democratic Spanish state has responded to the challenge of an armed insurgency that has continued to the present. While the history of the organisation is well known, less so is the development of the reaction to deal with it. ETA’s progression cannot be understood in isolation, but rather needs to be placed into the context of the measures taken by the state, which influenced, shaped, and was shaped by it throughout the course of the conflict.

The surprising case of police bribery reduction in South Africa Abstract The paper examines why there was a reduction of almost 15% in police bribery in Limpopo province, South Africa between 2011 and 2015, compared to only a 4% reduction the country overall. Drawing on statistical analysis and in-depth qualitative fieldwork, the research shows that the reduction occurred during an unprecedented anticorruption intervention in the province that did not directly tackle police bribery. Despite this, the intervention’s high visibility, along with uncertainty among the police of its mandate, was likely to have made police less willing to engage in bribery during this period. While police sector-specific characteristics (high degree of discretion, peer solidarity and contact with criminals) make fighting entrenched corruption particularly difficult, the research shows how a disruptive event can counteract these factors and how this can happen more quickly than previously anticipated. For long-term impact, however, disruption strategies likely need to be driven by strong leadership and structural changes that will continually disrupt corruption patterns.

Understanding the criminal justice process in human trafficking cases in Portugal: factors associated with successful prosecutions Abstract The overall number of convictions for human trafficking is still very low. In order to understand the barriers and gaps to human trafficking prosecutions and convictions, it is pertinent to analyse the criminal justice processes at different stages of the criminal procedure. This study aims to respond to that gap by identifying the cases that initiated criminal justice procedure for the crime of human trafficking in Portugal, through the analysis of 30 records of criminal cases for human trafficking elapsed in Portugal between 2007 and 2015. The results showed that the majority of cases (71%) were filled after the criminal investigation phase, and only 2% of all cases were convicted for human trafficking. The analysis allowed to identify the factors of effectiveness and ineffectiveness shaping legal outcomes and also, the relevance of the victim cooperation in the different stages of criminal justice processes (e.g., police investigation, trial).

Media portrayal of terrorism and Muslims: a content analysis of Turkey and France Abstract The media plays a crucial role in highlighting the important facts the public should know by selecting, broadcasting, and emphasizing what events the public should classify and comprehend as important and what the public should assess as a threat (Slone Journal of Conflict Resolution 44(4): 508-522, 2000, Papacharissi and de Fatima Oliveira The International Journal of Press/Politics 13(1): 52-74, 2008). This paper explores the notion that the media reinforces a false synonym between Muslims and terrorism. I begin with a description of news framing bias and how this bias impacts the portrayal of terrorism and Muslims through politically and emotionally charged discourse. Then, through a content analysis of local and national news articles, I examine selected terrorist events in France and Turkey, analyzing the U.S media’s portrayal of these events to uncover what elements journalists select, emphasize, and deemphasize in countries with predominantly Muslim and non-Muslim populations. This analysis is useful in uncovering the mechanisms allowing U.S perception of perceived threat to rise in tandem with U.S national security’s placement on the current policy agenda, while the actual risks posed by terrorism and Muslim populations are marginal in comparison and continue to decline (Powell Communication Studies 62(1): 90-112, 2011). The findings suggest that news media framing utilizes biased, negative imagery, portraying the events in these countries in a way that reinforces current prejudices against Muslims, even when Muslims are themselves the victims. This unequal reporting increases viewership while simultaneously allowing current perceptions about terrorism and Muslims to continue.

White-collar offenders vs. common offenders: a comparative study on personality traits and self-control Abstract Several studies have produced evidence of the existence of differences between common offenders and white-collar offenders. In Portugal, however, there is little or no empirical work on this topic. To fill this gap, a survey was administered to a sample of 137 incarcerated subjects in several Portuguese prisons, separated into white-collar offenders (n = 74) and common offenders (n = 63). For this evaluation, sociodemographic, personality and self-control variables were measured. The results showed significant differences between the two groups of offenders. White-collar offenders are older, have more qualifications and are mostly married or divorced, contrasting with common offenders, who are younger, less qualified and mostly single. Moreover, findings indicate personality differences regarding “openness to experience” in both groups. With regard to self-control, the General Theory of Crime is supported as no differences were found between both types of offenders. The results are discussed and the implications of the findings are outlined.

Examining gender differences in reintegrative shaming theory: the role of shame acknowledgment Abstract Reintegrative shaming theory operates on the assumption that shaming from important others is gendered: women are more likely than men to conform and desist from offending. This study examines the validity of this assumption using measures of parent shame, peer shame, and shame acknowledgment to determine the impact of shame on offending and conformity. Using waves six and seven of the National Youth Survey Family Study data, zero-inflated negative binomial modeling is employed to examine the impact of reintegrative shaming on female and male offending and non-offending behavior among a probability sample of adults (N = 1227). Parent shaming is not a significant predictor of offending, but peer shaming is influential. The relationship between gender and conformity was mediated by shame acknowledgement. Although the reintegrative shaming process is not as influential as the theory had predicted, the importance of shame for explaining prevalence in women is demonstrated.

The future of raising finance - a new opportunity to commit fraud: a review of initial coin offering (ICOs) scams Abstract Over one billion US dollars were invested in blockchain in 2016. The potential application of blockchain extends far beyond cryptocurrencies. One use of blockchain is an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), a digital method of raising finance involving issuance of tokens in exchange for cryptocurrencies or fiat money. It is a cheaper, easier and quicker way to raise funds compared with traditional public offerings. However, it has raised a new opportunity for fraud. An estimated 10% of ICO funds have been lost to fraud. Using case-study analysis, this study determines characteristics of such fraud schemes and the regulatory changes made in response to them. The study reveals key lessons for investors in terms of proactive steps that can be taken to protect themselves from being victims, for issuers to ensure awareness and take steps to secure investors’ trust, and for regulators to promote a safe environment. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to document the effect of ICO fraud schemes on the regulatory environment, which is going through a series of amendments to provide protection against such fraudulent schemes. Additionally, it provides direction for future research to further investigate the risks of this new method of raising funds.

Revisiting the relationship between corruption and innovation in developing and emerging economies Abstract This study estimates the relationship of institutional (judicial and political) and monetary (petty and grand) dimensions of corruption with six different types of innovations. Using cross country firm level data from World Bank Enterprise Survey for 16 developing and emerging economies, the study reveals that, in most of the cases, monetary dimensions of corruption grease the wheels of the innovations involving interactions with public offices and have an insignificant or negative association in opposite cases. Results show that corruption is disproportionately associated with the innovative activities of firms operating in different industrial groups devised as per Castellacci (Research Policy, 37(6), 978–994, 2008). Interestingly, both monetary dimensions of corruption are positively correlated with major innovation indicators in SMEs. Large firms are more the victims of the monetary corruption. Furthermore, innovation in the services sector is more harmed by petty corruption than is innovation in the manufacturing sector. Services firms seem to be taking advantage of grand corruption. Judicial corruption is found to be positively associated with most of the innovation indicators, highlighting the loopholes in the judicial system. Moreover, political corruption benefits both SMEs and large firms in most of their innovative activities. In the end, the study provides important policy insights from the analysis.

Iberian-indigenous malice and institutionalization deficit: the origins of a lazy work mentality in Colombia Abstract This article is the result of the historical and documentary review of an investigation which, from a qualitative approach, intended to find the base that built the identity of Colombian people and their behavior towards work and the institutions. It discusses the consequences of the XV Century Spanish conquest model, the deficit of institutionalization and the initial concept of work in the creation of institutions as an essential condition for social cohesion. All of which might still affect the understanding of illegality as a favorable environment for the emergence of multiple informal or marginal trades in some social spheres. These contexts end up consolidating themselves as the basis of an illegal 'industry' permanently reinventing itself, giving rise to the development of certain skills, including Iberian-indigenous malice, necessary for survival in the Colonial period, that later could have had an impact on the emergence of illegal behavior.

Unemployment and property crime: evidence from Croatia Abstract This paper studies the effect of unemployment on property crime in Croatia. The workhorse model of economics of crime is estimated on yearly panel data at the county level over the period 1998-2016. The results show that unemployment has a significant and positive effect on burglaries. The estimated elasticity is higher for female unemployment. The main effect of unemployment comes from lower crime quantiles for female unemployment, and from higher crime quantiles for male unemployment. The police force has the strongest negative effect on crime in areas with the highest crime rates. The typical identifying variation in unemployment is used to interpret the economic significance of the estimated effect. For a typical increase in unemployment, the number of burglaries is estimated to increase by 3.3 percent, which translates to over 750,000 euros in reported damages.