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10 E. Afr. L.J. 243 (1974)
Crime in Developing Countries: A Comparative Perspective

handle is hein.journals/easfrilaj10 and id is 247 raw text is: Crime in Developing Countries: A Comparative Perspective TESFA-TSION MEDHANIE* When we denote the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America en bloc as the Third World, the reference is to their economic and political position vis-A-vis the developed countries of Europe and North America. Otherwise, these developing countries as a group are characterized by a multiplicity of diverse cultures and traditions, and to a large extent are even inhabited by peoples of different racial stocks. Therefore, unless one is inclined to view crime as having a constantly parallel link with the stages of economic development, there may readily appear a ground for doubting the soundness of an undertaking to discuss and formulate theories on the problem of Crime in the Developing Countries. Clinard and Abbott have produced such a work,' which, quite evidently is the result of long and intensive research. The number and location of the countries in which the authors conducted their research easily persuades the reader of the representative- ness of the samples and raw data which formed the bases for their various interpretations of crime in the Third World. The study shows that some general features are commonly discernible in the crimes, and particularly urban crimes, that ravage the developing countries of the contemporary period. One is left with the clear impression that this particular work is not a grab-bag treatment of dissimilar problems. The book is conveniently divided into nine chapters. At the end of many of the chapters the authors have put some conclusions which effectively summarize the discussion preceding them. Taking the comparative approach the authors make an attempt to test the validity of the criminological theories that evolved in the Euro-American world by applying them to the phenomenon of crime in the developing countries today. In doing this, the authors purport to satisfy the third condition, according to Durkheim's theory of com- parative sociology, for the explanation of a theoretical formulation. on a universal basis.2 *LL.B. (Halile Selassie 1). LL.M. (Columbia). Lecturer in Law, University of Nairobi. 1 Chinard and Abbott, Crime in Developing Countries: A Comparative Perspec- tive, John Wiley and Sons, New York and London, 1973. 2 Ibid., p. 2.