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Företags försvar vid anklagelser om brott – betydelsen av den nordiska kontexten

Flyghed, Janne and Schoultz, Isabel LU orcid (2019) In Nordisk tidsskrift for kriminalvidenskab 106(3). p.297-297
Abstract
In recent years, several Swedish companies have been accused in the media, by NGOs, and via legal proceedings of engaging in criminal activities. Two of these companies, TeliaSonera and Lundin Petroleum have been the focus of substantial public attention. During the years following the revelations that TeliaSonera, a partly state owned telecommunications company, had committed bribery offences in Central Asia, the affair went from a public scandal in Sweden to a legal process in Sweden and abroad. Lundin Petroleum, a family owned oil company accused of participating in crimes against humanity in Sudan, has continuously denied the accusation by using a variety of denials and neutralizations. The current paper analyzes the strategies... (More)
In recent years, several Swedish companies have been accused in the media, by NGOs, and via legal proceedings of engaging in criminal activities. Two of these companies, TeliaSonera and Lundin Petroleum have been the focus of substantial public attention. During the years following the revelations that TeliaSonera, a partly state owned telecommunications company, had committed bribery offences in Central Asia, the affair went from a public scandal in Sweden to a legal process in Sweden and abroad. Lundin Petroleum, a family owned oil company accused of participating in crimes against humanity in Sudan, has continuously denied the accusation by using a variety of denials and neutralizations. The current paper analyzes the strategies employed by these two businesses when defending themselves against allegations of criminal acts. Drawing on Stanley Cohen’s (2009) theoretical work on processes of denial and neutralization techniques, we have identified four main techniques used by the two companies to deflect allegations of criminal wrongdoing: literal denial; denial of knowledge; condemning the condemners; and appealing to a higher loyalty. In addition, we identify how the corporations emphasise their “Nordic values” by linking into a post-colonial discourse and justify their behaviour by relativising it. The article contributes to the discussion of neutralization strategies by pointing out the importance of the context in which a defence takes place (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
företags brottslighet, neutraliseringar
in
Nordisk tidsskrift for kriminalvidenskab
volume
106
issue
3
pages
314 pages
publisher
De Nordiske Kriminalistforeninger
ISSN
0029-1528
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
63f9c417-7532-4cbf-b4da-b89f7a6f0ed6
date added to LUP
2020-01-07 13:16:02
date last changed
2021-03-22 17:08:28
@article{63f9c417-7532-4cbf-b4da-b89f7a6f0ed6,
  abstract     = {{In recent years, several Swedish companies have been accused in the media, by NGOs, and via legal proceedings of engaging in criminal activities. Two of these companies, TeliaSonera and Lundin Petroleum have been the focus of substantial public attention. During the years following the revelations that TeliaSonera, a partly state owned telecommunications company, had committed bribery offences in Central Asia, the affair went from a public scandal in Sweden to a legal process in Sweden and abroad. Lundin Petroleum, a family owned oil company accused of participating in crimes against humanity in Sudan, has continuously denied the accusation by using a variety of denials and neutralizations. The current paper analyzes the strategies employed by these two businesses when defending themselves against allegations of criminal acts. Drawing on Stanley Cohen’s (2009) theoretical work on processes of denial and neutralization techniques, we have identified four main techniques used by the two companies to deflect allegations of criminal wrongdoing: literal denial; denial of knowledge; condemning the condemners; and appealing to a higher loyalty. In addition, we identify how the corporations emphasise their “Nordic values” by linking into a post-colonial discourse and justify their behaviour by relativising it. The article contributes to the discussion of neutralization strategies by pointing out the importance of the context in which a defence takes place}},
  author       = {{Flyghed, Janne and Schoultz, Isabel}},
  issn         = {{0029-1528}},
  keywords     = {{företags brottslighet; neutraliseringar}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{297--297}},
  publisher    = {{De Nordiske Kriminalistforeninger}},
  series       = {{Nordisk tidsskrift for kriminalvidenskab}},
  title        = {{Företags försvar vid anklagelser om brott  – betydelsen av den nordiska kontexten}},
  volume       = {{106}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}