Power, Race, and Justice: The Restorative Dialogue We Will Not Have

Professor Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama Foundation and University of Hawaii, USA.

"This timely book invites readers to explore power, justice, and race in multiple places and from multiple perspectives. It challenges us to consider our own abilities to craft new narratives of identity and truth, transform ineffective or unfair systems, and contribute to racial healing. I highly recommend this book as both a learning tool and as a source of inspiration for educators, activists, and peacebuilders".

Professor John Braithwaite, Australian National University, Australia.

"Racial injustices that intersect with other injustices are daunting in their intersectionality. Yet this is a book that refuses to feed our despair. It infuses our imaginations with an empowering vision for hope and governance. Theo Gavrielides opens pathways to implementing the Martin Luther King imaginary that ‘If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.’ Slavery is a neglected topic in the restorative justice literature. This is a book that begins to redress that failing with a fresh approach. Theo Gavrielides’ new monograph advances a politics of inclusion and fusion of insights from theory and practice so evocatively and with such eloquence."

Professor Peter Raynor, Professor of Criminology, Swansea University and Visiting Professor, University of South Wales.

"This book, by a leading researcher in the restorative justice movement, is written to make people think, and it does. Through a mixture of theoretical discussion and practical examples it explores the variety, creativity and potential of the restorative justice movement, while also showing how its efforts to empower participants conflict with social structures that systematically disempower. We are challenged to think critically about justice, inequality, race and power, and in the process to develop a more comprehensive and theoretically grounded conception of restorative justice. This is a significant and thoughtful contribution which deserves to be widely read."

Professor Gerry Johnstone, Hull University, UK.

"This provocative new book by Theo Gavrielides provides a powerful reminder of the radical promise and potential of restorative justice. Employing philosophical analysis and lessons from his own pioneering work in developing community-led initiatives, Gavrielides reveals the possibility of challenging unjust exercises of social power and racial injustice through restorative justice, yet is also unflinching in his exposure of the shortcomings of much conventional restorative justice thought and practice. An important work for those who still believe in the possibility of, and our responsibility for bringing about, progressive social change."

Kay Pranis, independent trainer and facilitator for peace-making circles, leader in Restorative Justice and Circle Process movements.

"Theo Gavrielides has clearly written from his heart and spirit as well as his mind, as he wrestles with the challenge and potential of justice and restorative justice. The book covers a surprising breadth of the restorative justice landscape – from deep probing of philosophical roots to detailed observations about implementation and the impact of restorative practices on the lives of individuals. This is a very timely contribution to the restorative justice literature. Theo Gavrielides offers us a way to pause, to reach deep into our sense of purpose and take stock of where we are and where we want to be headed with this new momentum".

Emeritus Professor Andreas Kapardis, Department of Law, University of Cyprus.

"This is a most significant and original book, the outcome of no less that 20 years of Theo Gavrielides’ work in the fields of equality and justice. Even after teaching restorative justice for a long time, I have found it a most inspiring book for it provides, inter alia, numerous lenses through which to address and redress afresh global and local inequalities and justice by focusing on the pivotal role of power and its dynamic interactions with race and justice. I strongly recommend this book to restorative justice practitioners, tertiary students and criminal justice students, teachers and researchers."

Dr. Paul Kiff,　Director of the Research Advice Service,　Senior Criminologist, former Director of the British Society of Criminology and long-time Secretary to the UK Penal Affairs Consortium, UK. 

"This is a seriously important contribution to restorative justice, which will make you think out why and how you are a part of, or should be part of, the restorative justice movement. Restorative justice has not come to life separate from its historical context, and this seminal piece of writing may help you to articulate your feelings about it and the supposedly stable society in which we all now labour".

Professor Daniel Christie, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Ohio State University, USA.

"Theo Gavrielides takes the reader on reflexive journey that results in personal transformation and implications for researchers and practitioners in restorative justice.　 The analysis seeks to demystify the unacknowledged impact of power at the center of restorative processes, a veil that serves to maintain status quo power arrangements.　 This may be an uncomfortable read for those who have not examined their own positionality, but the author offers guidance to mitigate the discomfort and arrive at a deeper understanding of restorative processes".

Margaret Thorsborne, Managing Director of Margaret Thorsborne & Associates, Australia.

"I am grateful that Theo Gavrielides has found the time to write this deeply personal, and therefore all-the-more engaging account of the challenging that needs to happen to keep our restorative work on the right path. He’s right about the discomfort that is triggered in reading his words. I hope to, after almost three decades working in schools and workplaces as a restorative practitioner, author and trainer, to remind myself and not lose sight of the "mermaids and sirens" that can tempt us from the path and cloak the real issues. The case studies are all stories of empowerment and narratives that speak about the unspeakable – only possible when we are prepared to be vulnerable – the ultimate move away from domination and the only way to re-connect after disconnection. Keeping relationship at the heart of justice as healing and justice as fairness."

Dr. Keyria Rodgers, Director of Criminal Justice, Millikin University, USA Keyria Rodgers.

"Dr. Theo Gavrielides has done a fantastic job introducing race, justice, restorative justice, and historical philosophies in ways that even the younger generations across various professions and communities can read and understand. Readers are given the opportunity to learn about research that combines critical thinking and the development of new normative ideas and methodologies. The timeliness of this book　is simply perfect as the world is learning of new ways to respond to community-based challenges and global social justice issues. I highly recommend this book to professors to use in the classroom."

Penelope Griffith, Executive Director, Collaborative Solutions for Communities, USA.

"An essential read for social workers and others in human services. The case studies in this book demonstrate in practical terms how one regains control and brings back the balance of power in their lives. Through the use of a variety of modalities, including healing circles, practitioners　can help clients confront the harm they have done and seek to reconcile those impacted by their harm".

Professor Howard Williamson CVO CBE FRSA FHEA, University of South Wales, Wales, UK.

"In the face of growing inequalities and the increasing questioning of both the morality and efficacy of contemporary approaches to ‘justice’, is there a new zeitgeist, especially for young people? And is restorative justice, in a variety of forms, the new paradigm for responding to it? 　Through an imaginative and provocative blend of philosophy, incisive critique and empirical illumination, this book takes on the issues, concluding that restorative action is embedded within established human rights".

Professor Neil Chakraborti - Director of the Centre for Hate Studies, University of Leicester.

"This is a rich, timely and compelling account which challenges our assumptions about power, race, justice and restorative interventions. Written in a way that engages the reader throughout, the book offers us fresh ways of thinking about those key concepts, and a framework designed to elevate cross-disciplinary knowledge, foster critical thinking and shape policy. As such it is a welcome addition to the existing literature and feels genuinely ground-breaking in its scope and ambition".

Professor Gabriel Velez – College of Education, Marquette University, USA.

"The popularization of restorative justice threatens to turn it into a buzz word, with focuses primarily on how best to implement it and on its potential for positive outcomes for individuals, communities and societies. In this engaging and insightful book, Theo Gavrielides draws on a rich array of knowledge across fields and times to ask foundation questions. What does power entail? How does it intersect with race and philosophical perspectives on justice? Addressing these difficult inquiries, Gavrielides’ readable, critical, and nuanced text challenges our thinking by wrestling with how the practices of restorative justice can address deeply rooted, unjust systems."

Professor Dennis Wong, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong.

"This book is a collection of reflection and scholarly writings of Dr. Theo Gavrielides who exhibits a distinct set of discourse. His reflection on restorative justice is from lenses of power, race, and justice, and writings are full of vivid demonstration of theoretical discussions and practical solutions. Based on theory and research evidence, this book not only subverts the power of interpreting restorative justice, but also brings up insightful ideas and debates on how the pre-conceived ideas of restorative justice can be transformed. It also attempts to provide suggestions for redefining roles of restorative justice and reshaping it into a better practice for those who are coming from different classes sectors, cultures, identities, and racial backgrounds. I highly recommend it to university students, criminal justice related personnel, restorative justice practitioners and criminologists". 

Professor Aneta D. Tunariu, Dean of School of Psychology, University of East London, UK.

"Twenty-years in the making, this new book from Theo Gavrielides delivers a thoroughly compelling exposition on justice and restorative justice; how do we and could we conceptualise and deliver justice and restorative justice? how do we and could we best grasp their nuanced, interlocking connection with power, (ab)use of power, responsibility, human rights and actions-out-of-hope? The book combines critical synthesis of theory and research, insights from large-scale field work, original philosophical dialogues and, in its final section, showcases a collection of vignettes written by practitioners and users of the justice system from across contexts and countries. Well informed, balanced, reflective, not shy from tackling difficult questions, with important and tangible implications for policy and practice – the book is a must read for students and professionals alike."

The book was shortlisted as one of the three finalists for the American Society of Criminology-Division of International Criminology (ASC-DIC) Outstanding Book Award 2023