A Bibliometric Profile of Green Criminology and its Reflections on Tourism
Banu Özüşen, Erkan Kadir ŞimşekGreen criminology is accepted as a sub-field of criminology and investigates threats against the entire ecosystem. The limited and unbalanced distribution of natural resources in the world and the rapid development of international trade has increased crimes against the elements of the ecosystem. This increasing number of crimes brings along multifaceted economic losses and health and safety issues for all living things. This study aims to use the bibliometric method to evaluate the research activities on green criminology, which has expanded its field of study since the 1990s and has become an interdisciplinary research field, by searching the studies on green criminology and discussing their reflections on tourism. This study uses the Scopus database to access a total of 360 documents published between 2010-2021. This study also examines the descriptive analysis results, annual scientific production, most cited publications, trending topics, most frequently used and related words, word cloud, tree map, three-field plot, world cooperation map, and cooperation network between authors and institutions. The study has determined 2020 to have been the most productive year regarding the number of publications. The article also investigates studies on the relationship between green criminology and tourism. The fact that only four studies are found on green criminology and tourism indicates the need for new studies in this context.
Yeşil Kriminolojinin Bibliyometrik Bir Profili ve Turizme Yansımaları
Banu Özüşen, Erkan Kadir ŞimşekKriminolojinin alt sahası olarak kabul edilen yeşil kriminoloji, tüm ekosisteme karşı oluşan tehdit unsurlarını araştırmaktadır. Dünyadaki doğal kaynakların sınırlı ve dengesiz dağılımı diğer taraftan uluslararası ticaretin hızı gelişimi, ekosistemin unsurlarına yönelik suçları arttırmaktadır. Artan suç sayısı, çok yönlü ekonomik kayıpları, tüm canlılar için sağlık ve güvenlik sorununu beraberinde getirmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, 1990’lı yıllardan itibaren çalışma alanını genişleten ve disiplinler arası bir araştırma sahasına sahip olan, yeşil kriminoloji konusunda araştırma faaliyetlerini bibliyometrik yöntemle değerlendirmek, yeşil kriminoloji üzerine yapılan çalışmaları araştırarak turizme olan yansımalarını tartışmaktır. Scopus veri tabanı kullanılan çalışmada, 2010-2021 yılları arasında toplamda 360 yayına ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca çalışmada betimsel analiz sonuçlarına, yıllık bilimsel üretime, en çok atıf alan yayınlara, trend konulara, en sık kullanılan ve ilintili sözcüklere, kelime bulutuna, ağaç haritasına, 3-bölgeli grafiğe, Dünya iş birliği haritasına, yazar ve kurumlar arası iş birliği ağına bakılmıştır. En çok yayın yapılan yılın 2020 olduğu belirlenmiştir. Yeşil kriminoloji ve turizm ilişkisi üzerine yapılan çalışmalar da incelenmiştir. Yeşil kriminoloji ve turizm alanında sadece 4 çalışmanın olması bu bağlamda yeni çalışmalara ihtiyaç olduğunu göstermektedir.
Crime and criminal behavior have been problems for every society. The complex nature of crime makes having a single definition difficult. The phenomenon of crime has been discussed in moral philosophy for many years and has currently expanded its field of study to an interdisciplinary level.
The subject of criminology concerns crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system, and green criminology is a new field of criminology. However, the views of Bentham, one of the pioneers of the criminology school, with regard to animals and other living things have also determined the history of green criminology (2021, s. 83). Green criminology covers the harms that affect all living things and ecosystems. Identifying the criminal elements and economic losses that constitute the subject of green criminology is important. Climate change, biodiversity reduction, illegal trade, rapid depletion of natural resources, and ecosystem degradation make increasing the number of studies on green criminology important.
Tourism is an important source of income for sustainable development. In this respect, protection of the environment, biodiversity, and natural and cultural heritage have vital importance with regard to tourism and development. Environmental crimes leave biodiversity and cultural heritage vulnerable. While economies struggle with the destruction of natural resources, environmental pollution, loss of tax and tourism revenues, and crime costs, the world is also faced with irreversible damage to the ecosystem.
This study aims to use the bibliometric method to evaluate the research activities on green criminology, which has expanded its field of study and been an interdisciplinary field of research since the 1990s, to investigate the studies on green criminology, and to discuss their reflections on tourism.. In this context, the study searched the Scopus database by entering the keywords “green criminology” on August 29, 2022, with the time interval for the study being selected as 2010-2021. The 360 documents obtained as a result of the search were taken from the system and used as a data set and include articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, editorials, and criticisms. As a result of the analysis performed on the data set, the study then examined the descriptive analysis results in terms of annual scientific production, top cited documents, trend topics, most frequent and most relevant words, a word cloud, a tree map, a three-region chart (i.e., Tree-Fields Plot), a world cooperation map, and the collaboration network between authors and institutions. Regarding the studies, the annual growth rate was found to be 17.69%. The most productive year about green criminology was seen to be 2020 with 59 documents. The most cited document is Gibbs et al.’s (2010), “Introducing Conservation Criminology: Towards Interdisciplinary Scholarship on Environmental Crimes and Risks” as published in the British Journal of Criminology, which received a total of 168 citations. The most frequently used words are crime, criminology, and the USA, respectively. As a result of the word cloud analysis, the words “crime,” “criminology,” “environmental,” and “green” were seen to come to the fore. A total of 340 authors’ works have been included in green criminology. While single-author publications show 79 authors, the number of authors for multi-author publications was determined to be 261. According to the results from the Tree Map analysis using the author keywords, the word “Green Criminology” (f = 126) was seen to occur at a rate of 38%. The USA was determined to be in the first place in the three-field plot showing the network between institutions, countries, and authors of articles on green criminology from 2010 to 2021. The frequency of the relationship between the USA and the United Kingdom was found to be 52. While a strong network of relations exists among the USA, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Essex University appeared at the forefront of the collaboration network.
This article has also investigated studies on the relationship between green criminology and tourism. The fact that only four studies were found on green criminology and tourism indicates the need for new studies in this context. When examining these studies, the concepts of green criminology and hunting tourism, eco-tourism, and sustainability, which are sub-branches of tourism, are seen to be related to one another. From this point of view, this article feels that studies to be done in the future should involve green criminology and these sub-branches of tourism in order to contribute to the literature.