Legitimacy beliefs towards global governance institutions: a research agenda

Lisa Dellmuth,Bernd Schlipphak

doi:10.1080/13501763.2019.1604788

Lisa Dellmuth, Bernd Schlipphak

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2019.1604788

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Abstract

ABSTRACTLegitimacy is central to the functioning of global governance institutions (GGIs) such as the European Union (EU) and the United Nations. There is a vibrant debate about legitimacy in International Relations, and a burgeoning literature in comparative politics on public attitudes towards the EU. Yet, these literatures rarely speak to each other, which has resulted in missed opportunities for theoretical advancements on the sources and consequences of citizens’ legitimacy beliefs vis-à-vis GGIs. To assist researchers in advancing on this state of the art, this research note develops a conceptualization of popular legitimacy as a multidimensional belief system including both moral convictions and self-interest. A statistical analysis of public attitudes towards the EU from 1973 to 2012 suggests that commonly used survey measures capture self-interest rather than moral beliefs. This note concludes by suggesting a research agenda intended to push theory and survey research on legitimacy beliefs towards GGIs forward.

Highlights

How legitimate are global governance institutions (GGIs) such as the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) or the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? Why do some citizens believe in the legitimacy of GGIs while others do not? These questions are relevant to large literatures in comparative politics and International Relations (IR) on legitimacy, compliance, and effectiveness
We focus on the EU, as availability of different survey indicators over time and across bodies is best compared to other GGIs (Dellmuth 2018)
We conclude by sketching a research agenda for comparative politics and IR scholars for further conceptual and empirical assessment of legitimacy beliefs vis-à-vis GGIs, using novel ways to gather data on legitimacy beliefs and their priors

Summary

Introduction

How legitimate are global governance institutions (GGIs) such as the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) or the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? Why do some citizens believe in the legitimacy of GGIs while others do not? These questions are relevant to large literatures in comparative politics and International Relations (IR) on legitimacy, compliance, and effectiveness. Using the extended Eurobarometer Trend File (1973–2012), we illustrate that commonly used survey indicators to analyse EU attitudes capture self-interested calculations rather than moral beliefs.

Results

Conclusion