Performing Absolution Narratives in Restorative Justice
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Based on Goffman's notion of people performing contextually preferred identities, a qualitative study of victim–offender mediation shows that the roles adopted in mediation sessions reflect a moral assessment of the situation. This assessment is structured by a confessional ethos, including demanding remorse from the perpetrator and mercy from the victim. The powerful idea of confession and forgiveness as liberating and emancipative is seen as part of a Foucauldian, neoliberal effort working toward the same end as regular criminal proceedings: creating law-abiding citizens. However, creating law-abiding citizens is not encouraged through judiciary processes, sentencing and imprisonment, but by stimulating an inner, panoptic judge of conscience, motivating the perpetrator to remain within the law.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Restorative Justice |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 1 Routledge |
Pages (from-to) | 28-48 |
Number of pages | 21 |
ISSN | 2050-4721 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 11 Sep 2015 |
- Faculty of Law - Restorative justice , Mediation, Religious aspects, Goffman, Foucault, Interactionism, Neoliberalism, Pastoral power
Research areas
Links
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/20504721.2015.1049870
Final published version
ID: 131355419