This book explores the key issues and debates surrounding the question of the incorporation and institutionalisation of restorative justice within existing penal and criminal justice systems. It offers conceptual tools and a theoretical framework to help make sense of developments in this area, reflecting expertise drawn from analysis of developments in Europe, North America and Australasia.

Introduction 1. The prospect for institutionalization of restorative justice initiatives in western countries 2. The vital context of restorative justice 3. Beyond evangelical criminology: the meaning and significance of restorative justice 4. The intermediate position of restorative justice: the case of Belgium 5. Institutionalizing restorative justice? Transforming criminal justice? A critical view of the Netherlands 6. Institutionalizing restorative justice in a cold, punitive climate 7. The French phantoms of restorative justice: the institutionalization of 'penal mediation' 8. The institutionalization of restorative justice in Canada: effective reform or limited and limiting add-on? 9. The institutionalization of principles in restorative justice - a case study from the UK 10. Risk and restorative justice: governing through the democratic minimization of harms 11. Reintegrative shaming and restorative justice: reconciliation or divorces? 12. Balancing the ethical and political: normative reflections on the institutionalization of restorative justice 13. Epilogue