The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it Matters

In recent years computer technologies and digital devices have become ubiquitous in all facets of human existence, including crime and deviant behavior. Various forms of criminality have emerged in which technical entities play a substantial role. It can be argued that such a development urges crimi...

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Main Author: Wytske van der Wagen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Extreme Anthropology Research Network 2019-06-01
Series:Journal of Extreme Anthropology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uio.no/JEA/article/view/6895
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author Wytske van der Wagen
author_facet Wytske van der Wagen
author_sort Wytske van der Wagen
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description In recent years computer technologies and digital devices have become ubiquitous in all facets of human existence, including crime and deviant behavior. Various forms of criminality have emerged in which technical entities play a substantial role. It can be argued that such a development urges criminologists and anthropologists to draw more attention to the significance of things in crime. Latour’s (2005) actor-network theory (ANT), which considers non-human entities as active participants of the social, could be a useful approach for extending our analytical focus to the non-human. The article will not only asses why, but also how we can apply ANT as a more-than-human methodology in qualitative research, by discussing three ANT-based methodological principles: ‘follow the tool’, ‘follow the hybrid’ and ‘follow the network.’ In this scope, this article draws on earlier conducted qualitative ANT case studies on different forms of high-tech cybercrime. In a more general vein, the article aims to show that innovations in qualitative research methods can be also informed by theory.
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spelling doaj.art-3b9cce15f4f8403faa627d3ae797cab92022-12-22T03:11:35ZengExtreme Anthropology Research NetworkJournal of Extreme Anthropology2535-32412019-06-013110.5617/jea.6895The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it MattersWytske van der Wagen0Assistant Professor at Erasmus University, Department of CriminologyIn recent years computer technologies and digital devices have become ubiquitous in all facets of human existence, including crime and deviant behavior. Various forms of criminality have emerged in which technical entities play a substantial role. It can be argued that such a development urges criminologists and anthropologists to draw more attention to the significance of things in crime. Latour’s (2005) actor-network theory (ANT), which considers non-human entities as active participants of the social, could be a useful approach for extending our analytical focus to the non-human. The article will not only asses why, but also how we can apply ANT as a more-than-human methodology in qualitative research, by discussing three ANT-based methodological principles: ‘follow the tool’, ‘follow the hybrid’ and ‘follow the network.’ In this scope, this article draws on earlier conducted qualitative ANT case studies on different forms of high-tech cybercrime. In a more general vein, the article aims to show that innovations in qualitative research methods can be also informed by theory.https://journals.uio.no/JEA/article/view/6895actor-network theorynon-human agencycybercrimequalitative research methodsethnography
spellingShingle Wytske van der Wagen
The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it Matters
Journal of Extreme Anthropology
actor-network theory
non-human agency
cybercrime
qualitative research methods
ethnography
title The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it Matters
title_full The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it Matters
title_fullStr The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it Matters
title_full_unstemmed The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it Matters
title_short The Significance of ‘Things’ in Cybercrime: How to Apply Actor-network Theory in (Cyber)criminological Research and Why it Matters
title_sort significance of things in cybercrime how to apply actor network theory in cyber criminological research and why it matters
topic actor-network theory
non-human agency
cybercrime
qualitative research methods
ethnography
url https://journals.uio.no/JEA/article/view/6895
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AT wytskevanderwagen significanceofthingsincybercrimehowtoapplyactornetworktheoryincybercriminologicalresearchandwhyitmatters