The Modern Society as a Precondition for Restorative Approach to the Concept of Crime in the Thought of Emile Durkheim

With its diverse characteristics, the “modern society” is a precondition for understanding the modern perception of the concept of crime. The transformation from the traditional social system to the modern society and the quality of this transformation - which is the main issue for classical sociologists - makes a great change in the concept of crime, which is known as the ‘restorative approach’. This subject is so importance that if we want to talk about criminal law, criminology and criminal sciences in the modern world, which requires a restorative approach, we must understand the essence of the modern society as a precondition and its relations. The French philosopher and sociologist, Emile Durkheim, is a pioneer in explaining the modern society’s nature on the one hand, and explaining the restorative approach to crime on the other hand. Crime, according to the restorative approach, as Durkheim says, is based on the special structure of modern society and its various dimensions such as social division of labor and organic solidarity; and for this reason, it is does not imply its traditional conceptual meaning  which has a nafs al-amri (related to its essence) aspect - rather it implies an economic, conventional and individualistic concept. A deep understanding of the nature of crime in the light of the restorative approach and based on the requirements of the modern society prepares the ground for theorization on crime in the context of native cultural and epistemological roots. I have used an analytical approach in this research, considering the necessity of analyzing the modern perception of the concept of crime and its relationship with the conceptual elements of the modern society.