The RJiNEAR Resilience Model: Embodying the Restorative Justice Ethos

The third chapter presents the RJiNEAR model of building resilience against harming ourselves and others, especially when this involves violent radicalised or extremist thoughts and acts. RJiNEAR articulates in practical terms the book’s positive approach to harm prevention and healing. Furthermore, the model provides a concrete path through which restorative justice, positive criminology, and positive psychology come together to prevent and rehabilitate through the deconstruction of the self and the reconstruction of a stronger inner world through empowerment and the advancement of our individual talents. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first provides an account of the history and theory behind RJiNEAR as well as some early evidence of its predecessor’s impact. The second part focuses on articulating the restorative justice elements in RJiNEAR and in particular the concepts of social liaison and pain. These two elements elevate RJiNEAR from being a positive resilience model, to becoming a method for the embodiment of the restorative justice ethos. Finally, the third part presents the thematic lessons comprising the RJiNEAR workshops, linking them with its psychosocial domains of change and the overarching restorative justice ethos through a voluntary participatory method.