Transversal Harm and Zemiology: Reconsidering Green Criminology and Mineral Extractivism in Cerro de Pasco, Peru

Abstract

Green criminology has been advancing a focus on environmental crimes and harms. Extending this inquiry into avoidable and avertable environmental harms is a key function of both green criminology and zemiology. However, while the former seeks to expand regulatory frameworks, the latter contains within it the potential for a more holistic reimagining of the social world. Based on a methodology that combines qualitative methods (key informant interviews), a zemiological analysis, and the political ecology of Felix Guattari, we present a reconceptualization of harm inflicted by mineral extractivism in Peru’s Cerro de Pasco. The analysis utilizes the concept of transversal harm, which allows us to move beyond the criminal and civil damage of corporate crime and negligence, and to capture the collective and continuous impact of mineral extractivism. A discussion of transversal harm as a potential new avenue for expanding the conceptual boundaries of studying environmental harm concludes the article.