Restorative Justice in Cache Valley: Building Community Resilience Through Restorative Practices

Author

• Rivkah Haubner, Utah State University

Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Economics and Finance

Abstract

Restorative justice as a field of study is primarily applied to criminal justice proceedings or similar topics. As such, its use as a tool in political organizing is an underdeveloped field. Due to its Indigenous history, restorative justice has intrinsically ant-colonial, anti-imperial, and anti-racist roots and is therefore already situated within the ethos of many progressive movements. Historically, radical movements within the United States and across the world experienced both internal and external pressures that undermined their goals. Restorative justice offers a framework through which to understand political action as a whole and specific tools to address internal conflict within organizations. This research explores two extensions of traditional restorative justice. Firstly, how can the theoretical aspects of restorative justice help political activists accurately analyze both large scale and small scale questions. This question is addressed by exploring the implications of restorative justice theory in four main areas, those being global, national, communal, and individual. The second way this paper moves beyond most restorative justice literature is in discussing how it can be concretely applied to political organizations and movements. To do this, restorative justice practices are tailored to a specific political organization within Cache Valley, Cache Valley Mutual Aid. The aim of this work is to determine how restorative justice can be incorporated into community organizing to build resilient communities capable of positive political and collective action.

Recommended Citation

Haubner, Rivkah, "Restorative Justice in Cache Valley: Building Community Resilience Through Restorative Practices" (2026). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 1109.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/1109