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Globalization has not led, and is unlikely to lead, to a global homogenization of penal policy and practices. Drawing on a study of penal systems in 12 contemporary capitalist countries (the United States of America, England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland and Japan), this article demonstrates that the political economies of such countries can be broadly categorized as neo-liberal, conservative corporatist, social democratic or oriental corporatist. This categorization is strongly related to the punitiveness of the penal culture and the rates of imprisonment to be found in each country. The reasons for this association are discussed. One crucial factor may be the degree to which societies with different types of political economy are ‘inclusive’ rather than ‘exclusive’ towards deviant individuals.

Drawing from the evaluation of three major restorative justice schemes in England and Wales, the article considers the theoretical implications for process and outcomes of situating restorative justice for adults within criminal justice, including the allocation of roles, the balance of power, the importance of procedural justice, and the tasks of restorative justice (such as apology, rehabilitation, reparation, healing, restoration, and reintegration and its relation with social capital). Given that restorative justice events are by definition unique, because of their participative nature, the ability to make generalizations across cultures is problematic, stemming from whether participants bring normative assumptions about justice to the event.

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In this article we outline a typology of ‘models’ or conceptual contexts within which a variety of victim-based measures has been proposed, and in many cases adopted, in various common law jurisdictions. The purpose of the typology is to clarify some of the confusion surrounding these measures and, in particular, the scope they offer for reparative and restorative approaches to operate either within or alongside the mainstream criminal process. Drawing on recent empirical findings and theoretical writings we also seek to evaluate the victim-oriented measures that are associated with each of the models. Within the typology three distinct models of restorative justice are examined and we argue that one of these, the Communitarian Model, emerges as the most coherent, credible and constructive challenger to the hitherto predominant Retributive Model.

Drawing from an ongoing evaluation of three major restorative justice schemes in England and Wales, the article employs a dramaturgical perspective to examine a number of process issues that arise when restorative justice processes are deployed within a criminal justice context. They include the rôle and identity of restorative justice facilitators, the locations for restorative justice encounters and associated matters relating to the values of privacy, openness and accountability.

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