Apocalyptic Crimes - (Critical Issues in Crime and Society) by Ronald C Kramer

About the Book

Ronald C. Kramer applies theories from criminology to argue that possession of nuclear weapons is a criminal act and shows how a nuclear apocalypse might be averted, offering a pathway to the abolition of these devastating weapons.

Book Synopsis

In 2023, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the iconic Doomsday Clock to ninety seconds to midnight--the closest to midnight, or civilization-ending apocalypse, it has ever been. Designed at the onset of the Cold War amid new fears of atomic weapons, the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic countdown to annihilation. Now, a generation later, the world is more vulnerable than ever to the nuclear weapons it sought to warn against. In Apocalyptic Crimes, Ronald C. Kramer reconsiders the immense danger these weapons pose to humanity, examining the use, threat to use, and continued possession of nuclear weapons from a criminological perspective.

Kramer argues that any country holding on to its nuclear arsenal--including the United States--is committing a criminal act. Offering a sharp rebuke to the common claim that nuclear stockpiles serve to deter the escalation of conflict, Apocalyptic Crimes emphasizes the harm caused by the mere possession of these deadly weapons. It further considers the culpability of political officials, acting as representatives of the state, whose threatening statements about nuclear weapons contain actions or omissions that violate specific international laws. But Kramer also shows how a nuclear apocalypse might be averted and offers a pathway to disarmament. Through critical analysis and a specific criminology of nuclear weapons, Kramer outlines the political actions necessary to rewind the Doomsday Clock and pull the world back from the brink of destruction--before the clock strikes midnight.

Review Quotes

"As one of few criminologists to warn of the threats posed to humanity by nuclear weapons, Kramer has been a prominent and assiduous voice on the importance of this issue within the discipline for over forty years. In this book, he provides a means of historicizing, conceptualizing, analyzing, and--importantly--challenging contemporary geopolitical apocalyptic crimes. Calling on scholars and the public to take seriously the stockpiling of and threats to use nuclear weapons, this book is a wake-up call for criminology to foreground these contemporary problems as key features of the discipline."--Ross McGarry "coauthor of A Criminology of War?"

"Kramer brilliantly provides an in-depth, meticulous, and unambiguous critical analysis establishing the immorality and illegality of nuclear weapons and the ominous catastrophic threat they pose to all of humanity and other living species. Apocalyptic Crimes is a timely must-read given the climate crisis, increased geopolitical tensions, wars, conflicts, and ongoing nuclear aspirations. Kramer elegantly demonstrates that the culture of nuclearism must end and atomic weapons should be abolished, dismantled, and destroyed before the Doomsday Clock clicks on midnight."--Dawn L. Rothe "coeditor of State Crime: Current Perspectives"

About the Author

RONALD C. KRAMER is a professor of sociology at Western Michigan University. His books include Carbon Criminals, Climate Crimes and State-Corporate Crime, both from Rutgers University Press.