Restorative Justice, a comparative analysis of discursive practices: Dialogistic exchanges in the USA and Italy

Following the 2007 European Union Guidelines for mediation in penal matters from a restorative justice (RJ) perspective, Italian criminal justice authorities are developing programs for cooperation with mediation services so as to reach victims and offenders more effectively. Such programmes need to include common principles concerning the ethics of the mediator, and the appropriate skills and techniques of communication with victims, offenders and others engaged in the mediation process. RJ began as an experiment in alternatives to criminal prosecution and conventional sentencing, especially where aboriginal populations were involved (New Zealand, Australia, Canada, North America). It is fundamentally concerned with re-establishing social equality in relationships by involving the victim, the offender, and the community in a search for solutions which promote repair, reconciliation, and reassurance, with a strong emphasis on the victims’ needs. Hence, discursive practices necessarily play a fundamental role in such negotiations which take place in “peacemaking” or “repair of harm” and “sentencing” circles. Many group conferencing programs rely on scripts and on the presence of circle-keepers or facilitators. The aims of this pilot study were to analyze qualitative samples of such exchanges from non-European contexts and compare them with samples from the initial Italian practices, so as to evaluate in a cross-cultural perspective the negotiation of challenging social relationships. A broad Critical Discourse Analysis approach was utilized, including the Appraisal Framework for the evaluation of Attitude.