decision to invade Iraq, an area with which students frequently struggle. More case studies follow, with an impressive account of the complex collusion and alliances between various para‐military groups in Northern Ireland, and British and Irish polices. An analysis of Argentina's so called “dirty war” in 1976, and a penetrating historiographical account of the miners' strike in the United Kingdom between 1984 and 1985 make the book compelling reading. The authors reach the conclusion that neoliberalism constantly emerges as a source of immorality and corruption, whilst acknowledging huge gaps in the existing knowledge of the extent and complex ramifications of state crime. Most importantly, the authors draw attention to the limitations of existing criminal laws whether national or international in addressing state crime. There are critical global questions of accountability, policing, and implementa- tion of legislation which need to be tackled. These authors believe, rather optimistically perhaps, that accumulated protracted and collective moral outrage following in the wake of crimes perpetrated by the powerful will act as a catalyst which will ultimately hold rogue states to account. Despite the visualization of state criminal activity in these well‐chosen case studies, given the ever changing nature of the state crime, the authors acknowledge that we can only have a limited picture of state crime in all its many guises and configurations. The book draws upon classic criminological and sociological theories—including C. Wright Mills, Habermas Garland, and Jock Young—mounting a convincing and critical analysis of state crime and the “ideal state” upon which the case studies are built. The critique of neoliberalism will not be unfamiliar to readers of this journal. Although executed with imagination and clarity, the authors are striving towards a more “holistic” and less myopic view of state crime and immorality. However, state crime can be viewed in a gaze beyond the neoliberal hegemony. A more “holistic” approach to the wrongful exercise of state could have given more attention to the increasing role of technologically created crime. The strategic use of social media by states is now an important element in the perpetration of state crime. This would, for example, have been especially useful in the rather brief discussion of the so‐called Islamic State. Given that the internet has become such a powerful source of news globally in what is fast becoming a post‐newspaper era, some discussion of social media and digital constructions of social reality was vital, particularly in the sections on media. There are only two brief references to social media in the book. Given that the title of the book links state crime to immorality, some consideration of the ways in which powerful lies prevail in a so‐called “post‐truth society” would also seem relevant. In a digital age, it is more possible than even before for the corrupt powerful elites to publish false information which is transmogrified into “truth” . Nonetheless, this is an important book which provides a much needed theoretically informed account of state crime. David Denney Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom DOI: 10.1111/spol.12394 Social inequality and leading principles in welfare states: The impact of institutional marketization, fragmentation and equalization on social structure By Patricia Frericks Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015. ISBN: 978‐1‐4438‐6881‐5; £47.99 (hbk). 828