In her newly published book, “The Justice Motive in Multilateral Negotiations”, Simone Wisotzki examines how states negotiate issues of justice within the United Nations. The book was published in May 2026 by Karl Alber Verlag as part of the “Friedenstheorien” series. Simone Wisotzki received the Alber Prize for Theories of Peace for her book.
In multilateral negotiations, participating states often hold different conceptions of justice. Yet questions of justice are highly relevant not only in today’s society but also in the field of conflict research.
To explore such negotiations, Wisotzki draws theoretically on the interdisciplinary concept of the “justice motive,” which should be understood as both highly strategic and altruistic and is employed by diplomats with equal ambivalence. In her theoretical framework, she traces the historical development of the justice motive across disciplines, from natural law through legal studies and political theory to international relations. Even there, it becomes clear that the justice motive can often lead to unjust outcomes. Empirically, she examines the justice motive through the negotiations on small arms control (UNPoA), the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), and the negotiation process for the conflict-related sexualized violence norm (CRSV) in the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court.
Drawing on Nancy Fraser’s conception of justice, the study demonstrates that the pursuit of fairness among states does not necessarily lead to just outcomes, but can itself give rise to new forms of injustice. It becomes clear that claims to justice can have contradictory effects: on the one hand, they can promote international cooperation; on the other hand, they can exacerbate conflicts over norms, as contentious claims make it more difficult to reach agreements. Justice thus proves to be a central but ambivalent force in negotiations and the formation of a rules-based global order.
This English-language monograph is based on Simone Wisotzki’s habilitation thesis, which was reviewed by David Welch (Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo/Canada) and Anja Jacobi (TU Braunschweig) as well as Jens Steffek and Markus Lederer (both TU Darmstadt). The habilitation thesis is the result of the research project “Conditions for Successful Governance in the Conflict Between Humanitarianism and Sovereignty” that was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Follow this link to the book: https://www.nomos-shop.de/en/p/the-justice-motive-in-multilateral-negotiations-gr-978-3-495-98844-2