White Coat Crime: Developing a Micro-Level Theory of Field Relationships by Examining Opioid Enforcement Agents

• In Event: 1567 - Section on Sociology of Law Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 2: Micro Perspectives

Abstract

Under what circumstances do social fields collaborate or compete to address shared social problems? Neo-institutional literature offers macro-level theory about field behavior but overlooks field relationships, especially relationships involving legal fields. This research contributes to field theory by offering a micro-level approach to field dynamics that explains the conditions under which criminal and administrative legal fields cooperate and compete to address the same social problem. Drawing on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 35 criminal and administrative enforcement agents in California, I demonstrate how workers decide whether to collaborate to investigate healthcare providers’ opioid provision. I conclude by theorizing about how micro-level processes create, sustain, and undermine relationships within and across fields.

Author

• Elizabeth Chiarello, Saint Louis University