Restorative Justice and Civil Society: Emerging Practice, Theory, and Evidence

This special issue focuses on two topical fields emerging within the social sciences: restorative justice and civil society. The broad range of scholarly work in these fields is growing quickly but remains inchoate. The aim of this volume is to begin to forge coherence from a diversity of intellectual perspectives and jurisdictions. The contributors represent a range of disciplines—psychology, social work, law, and criminology—and focus on a range of institutions—schools, criminal and juvenile justice, and family welfare. Some focus more on practice, some more on theory, but together they are building exciting links between theory and practice in two of the most stimulating areas of interest in the social sciences. Restorative justice has been conceived in the literature in two broad ways. One is a process conception; the other is a values conception. The process conception is characterized by a process that brings together all parties affected by harm or wrongdoing (e.g., offenders, and their families, victims, and their families, other members of the community, and professionals). These parties meet, often in a circle, to discuss what happened, how they were affected and come to some agreement as to what should be done to right any wrongs suffered. The values conception is characterized by a set of values, or principles, that distinguish restorative justice from traditional punitive state justice. The former values healing and restoration of all affected, the latter values accountability to the state through punishment. This volume examines restorative justice in the context of its contribution to advancing civil society through the lens of institutions that are intermediate between the individual and the state. From the perspective of restorative justice, civil society invests in and values social capital, using the strength of social ties to work constructively, and