ABSTRACT
The foregoing contributions in this volume are all written from the common perspective of developing socially constructive and effective ways to deal with ‘large-scale state-based conflicts’, as defined in Chapter 1. The central question was whether and to what degree restorative justice, as we know it from its applicability to common crime with its focus chiefly at the interpersonal level, can be considered as a relevant and useful framework for understanding and responding to violent inter-group conflicts, forms of mass victimisation and socalled ‘new wars’ (which are mainly large-scale intra-state conflicts — see Chapter 1). This exercise is conducted through three case studies, which refer to very different types and contexts of large-scale violent conflict: the Kosovo conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the Israeli- Palestinian conflict in the Middle East and the regional conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the three case studies, both formal and informal approaches were analysed, and this was done — where possible — from the different perspectives coming from local actors with first-hand experience of the conflict and of the justice efforts.
