Legitimating Knowledge in the Modern World Polity: a Study of INGOs and Sustainable Hunting

Abstract

This paper looks at globalization as a cultural construct that is neither homogeneous nor inclusive of a broad range of perspectives. It does so by analyzing the process of how knowledge claims are legitimated within international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), showing how political globalization likely limits the ability of global civil society to effectively facilitate diverse knowledge, values, and styles of reasoning. Sustainable hunting is the topical focus for understanding what scientific knowledge is promoted by environmental INGOs, how knowledge is legitimated, and what that legitimation process means for globalization and civil society. This exploratory, qualitative analysis of four environmental INGOs identifies the mechanisms for knowledge legitimation, including funding and several aspects of trust. This paper discusses how contradictory conditions of these mechanisms make inclusive and effective decision-making difficult, which may help explain problems INGOs have in adaptively working with local peoples and environments.