Reconstructing Reintegration in Restorative Justice: A Multidimensional Process Model

Although reintegration is widely recognized as a central objective of restorative justice (RJ), it remains conceptually underdeveloped within the literature. Existing scholarship often treats reintegration as a taken-for-granted outcome of RJ encounters, with limited attention to its meaning or underlying processes. This article addresses this gap by reconceptualizing reintegration as a dynamic, multidimensional process. Drawing on insights from contemporary desistance research, it also develops a theoretical model comprising three dimensions of reintegration in RJ: moral reconstruction, relational repair, and civic reauthorization. It argues that RJ should not be understood as producing reintegration as a discrete outcome of the encounter. Rather, RJ is best viewed as a relational and moral intervention that creates opportunities for reintegration by facilitating moral reconstruction, relationship rebuilding, and social recognition within broader desistance trajectories.