Radical restorative justice and the practice of listening: Lessons from South Africa

Abstract

This chapter proposes that debates on restorative justice and comparative political thought might be usefully brought together and analyzed with attention to the theme of listening as a dimension of justice and political theory. Like contributions by Moore and Baxter, this chapter examines the theme of dialogue and its limits. It suggests that a major contribution of scholarly debates on restorative justice and comparative political thought is their role in exposing the importance, as well as the difficulty, of good listening as a dimension of theoretical dialogue. Drawing on theoretical debates on restorative justice among participants in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process, the chapter reflects on why listening is difficult for political theorists and what it would mean to value and cultivate good listening as a dimension of political theory and restorative justice. In so doing, the chapter also reflects on the theme of "theory as politics" that is explored in several contributions to this volume, including chapters by O’Neill, Baxter, Gordy, London, and Thomas. More specifically, this chapter considers how political theorists might pursue important goals associated with restorative justice and comparative political thought by listening to the voices and ideas of political actors.