ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some lines of justice research to the analysis and understanding of social conflicts with the purpose of forming a culture of conflict resolution by mediation. It discusses the impact of the justice motive in social conflicts. Social conflicts result from perceived injustice and subjective justice is required for their settlement. In conflicts, the opponents are convinced to be in the right with their own views and claims and the adversaries being wrong. The chapter examines the major goal of normative discourses in mediation is imparting insight into normative dilemmas underlying the conflict, a second goal is to further the mutual understanding of diverging views of relevant facts. Conflicts are unavoidable because the justice motive is universal but the views of what is just and what is unjust are not at all universally shared. The main strategies in mediation to settle conflicts and their psychological background are outlined. The justice of free and informed contracts is highlighted.
