A comprehensive collection of original articles by renowned international scholars, this handbook is a vade mecum for all students and scholars. It surveys the entire landscape of restorative justice from its origins, philosophical and spiritual foundations, to ways in which its principles can be structured into social institutions to effect social change.

The Healing Dimension of Restorative Justice: A One-World Body Section 1: Restorative Justice Processes and Practices 1. The Recent History of Restorative Justice: Mediation, Circles, and Conferencing 2. Victim Offender Mediation: An Evolving Evidence-Based Practice 3. Victim Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice: The European Landscape 4. Conferencing and Restorative Justice 5. Restorative Justice and Recidivism: Promises Made, Promises Kept? 6. Peacemaking Circles: Reflections on the Principal Features and Primary Outcomes 7. The Limits of Restorative Justice Section 2: The Foundations of Restorative Justice 8. Navajo Peacemaking: Original Dispute Resolution and a Way of Life 9. The African Concept of Ubuntu and Restorative Justice 10. Spiritual Foundations of Restorative Justice 11. Empathy and Restoration 12. Sanctuary as a Refuge from State Justice Section 3: The Needs of Victims and the Healing Process 13. Responding to the Needs of Victims: What Was Promised, What Has Been Delivered 14. Restoration of the Assumptive World as an Act of Justice 15. Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation: Story-telling for Healing, as Witness, and in Public Policy 16. Hearing the Victim’s Voice Amidst the Cry for Capital Punishment 17. The Other Victims: The Families of Those Punished by the State Section 4: Making Things Right: Extending Restorative Justice 18. Changing Boundaries of the ‘Victim’ in Restorative Justice: So Who is the Victim Now? 19. Stopping Domestic Violence or Protecting Children? Contributions from Restorative Justice 20. Are There Limits to Restorative Justice? The Case of Child Sexual Abuse 21. Restoring Justice Through Forgiveness: The Case of Children in Northern Ireland 22. Restorative Justice in Transition: Ownership, Leadership, and 'Bottom Up' Human Rights Section 5: Gross Human Rights Violations and Transitional Justice 23. Essential Elements of Healing After Massive Trauma: Complex Needs Voiced by Victims/Survivors 24. Exploring the Relationship Between Reparations, the Gross Violation of Human Rights, and Restorative Justice 25. Truth and Reconciliation in Serbia 26. Transitional Justice, Restoration, and Prosecution 27. Restorative Justice and the Governance of Security in the Southwest Pacific 28. Rwanda’s Failing Experiment in Restorative Justice Section 6: Restorative Justice: Critical Commentaries on Restorative Justice 29. Restorative Justice and the Criminological Enterprise 30. Shame, Shaming and Restorative Justice: A Critical Appraisal 31. Community Justice Versus Restorative Justice: Contrasts in Family of Value 32. Postmodernism’s Challenges to Restorative Justice 33. A Feminist Vision of Justice? The Problems and Possibilities of Restorative Justice for Female Victims and Offenders Section 7: Transformative Justice and Structural Change 34. Toward a 'Radical' Paradigm of Restorative Justice 35. Environmental Policy and Management in Costa Rica: Sustainable Development and the Challenge of Postmodern Capitalism 36. Reaching Toward a Structurally Responsive Training and Practice of Restorative Justice 37. The Good Samaritan or the Person in the Ditch? An Attempt to Live a Restorative Justice Lifestyle 38. Transformative Justice: The Transformation of Restorative Justice

"The Handbook represents an important contribution to the development of the restorative justice thought. Unlike many books in the area, the discussions are not limited to application of restorative justice within the criminal justice context. On the contrary, the book asserts that restorative justice philosophy has application to every aspect of social life, at every level of human interactions. Many essays offer a more radical vision of restorative justice than mainstream literature in the area does, extending restorative ideas to social justice matters, offering engaging discussions and challenging readers to think critically about the role and the potential of restorative justice.The book is highly recommended to students of criminal justice, criminology, law, sociology, conflict-resolution and related disciplines, as well as criminal justice practitioners, researchers and policy-makers and anybody with an interest in criminal and social justice issues in contemporary society." – Margarita Zernova - Restorative Justice Online