Asian Values, Crime and Social Change

A central issue for Asian criminologists is whether there are distinctive patterns of offending in Asian countries and, if so, how these can be explained by distinctive social institutions and cultural values. This chapter contrasts two approaches to investigating this problem. Quantitative criminologists, drawing on the ideas of Emile Durkheim, seek to develop a cross-cultural theory or global criminology (Karstedt 2001) that explains international variation. Interpretivists, influenced by Max Weber, look at how intellectuals and criminal justice professionals in different countries construct and use their own theories about crime (Nelken 2010). Three sources of information are considered: the 1990s Asian values debate; cultural nationalism in China; and how some criminologists in Japan, South Korea and China view the crime problem.