Integrated Analysis of State Crimefrom the perspective of Neutralization Techniques and Defense Mechanisms

State crimes with the meaning of imposition of damage to the fundamental human rights by the government organization, were appeared with the establishment of the first governments. Moreover, despite precedence, importance and broadness, the various aspects and, especially, the criminological dimensions of them have not been so far scrutinized by the researchers of the criminal sciences. One of the solutions for overcoming this gap is reanalysis of the existing theories with the objective of enhancing their functional levels. Amongst the various approaches that can be utilized for analyzing the state crimes, the present study employs the theories related to the denial and justification of behavior, including neutralization techniques and Defense mechanisms as two supplementary perspectives thereby to elucidate the state crimes based on a descriptive-analytical method. The findings of the present study indicate that the governments avoid accepting their crimes through resorting to a multistage process. It begins with the use of a set of denial methods as outlined in the theory of neutralization techniques (crime, loss, victim and liability), advances towards justification methods (reprimanding of the others and resorting to the superior values) and is completed with the justificatory means stemming from Defense mechanisms. This way, in the first step, the state crime’s perpetration is originally denied by the government. In the second stage, the imposed losses and the victims are overlooked