@inbook{c8b5fb87-a2ea-45d8-8249-24b603e49e90,
  abstract     = {{In this chapter, I reflect on the use of sociologist Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical metaphor to understand the victim-offender mediation process. Using metaphors can both open unexpected, valuable views, as well as be limiting. Having entered a specific metaphoric realm means that we are able to perceive particular aspects and perspectives (as crucial) but not others. One benefit of the dramaturgical metaphor in relation to victim-offender mediation is that we can recognise the mediation meeting as a transforming ritual and performance. The form of the meeting can be analysed favourably; how it is staged and how the participants are performing their roles, using impression management, which is lost if only the content is in focus. Against this background, I also analyse the relationship between the (realist) claim of truth in restorative justice and the analytical (constructionist) perspective that Goffman offers. Yet, the theatre metaphor can also be seductive. We might miss the empirical complexity and ignore the many obstacles that can also arise in the restorative process. Research has for example showed that victim-offender mediation sometimes leads to increased social control of the offender, rather than providing a transforming meeting between two equal parties.}},
  author       = {{Rypi, Anna}},
  booktitle    = {{Handbook on Methods in Restorative Justice Research}},
  isbn         = {{9789004729827}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{M-5}},
  pages        = {{13--31}},
  publisher    = {{Brill Nijhoff}},
  series       = {{Monographs and edited collections}},
  title        = {{Goffman’s Useful but Seductive Metaphors : A Researcher’s Journey When Analysing Victim-Offender Mediation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004729827_003}},
  doi          = {{10.1163/9789004729827_003}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}