Caught in a Trap: Media’s Role in the Creation of a Paradox of Legitimacy Repair

Abstract

The paper examines the role of media in (failing) legitimacy repair processes. It builds on an analysis of the media discourse that emerged around the legitimacy crisis of the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo) during the so-called German “refugee crisis”. Our findings reveal that the media were constructing three paradoxes impeding legitimacy repair: the transformation paradox, the alliance paradox, and the transparency paradox. These paradoxical tensions result from media’s framing of the solution as a new problem thereby simultaneously triggering and evaluating changes of the legitimacy object. Hence, our paper contributes first, to legitimacy theory by highlighting the role of media not as a passive spectator but as a failing agent that creates a vicious circle of legitimacy repair. Second, the paper contributes to the dark sides of paradox debate by showing why paradox management might fail even despite the best intentions of managers.