Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes a cross national study they conducted which both expanded upon and empirically tested the main tenets of P. M. Blau's hypotheses. It focuses specifically on the current Kurdish, Turkish conflict and maintains that the conflict partly stems from the Turkish government's decision to stress Turkish identity and culture at the expense of minority identities and cultures. The book argues that in the 1990s German criminologists played a key role assisting the German government in implementing 'harsh' laws and policies which both restricted immigration and resulted in immigrants being viewed as a troublesome crime prone group. It examines several Western countries to determine if there was a link between a country's immigration policy and the criminal involvement of that country's immigrant population. The book reviews suicide and attempted suicide rates for a number of different ethnic communities in Israel.