Desistance is the process of abstaining from crime by those with a previous pattern of offending. What meaning does which incentive have for their endeavours to comply with norms? How is it achieved in the spheres of action, identity and social reintegration? What role do autonomy and recognition play in this? Combining subject theoretical and process analytical approaches and a qualitative triangulation method applied to biographical case studies, this work reveals strategies and coping mechanisms in pathways towards desistance, and provides the reader with insights into the structure of and relation between biographical conflict experiences, identity work, imagined futures as well as decision-making within the socio-spatial and temporal paradigm.