Problem Of Legitimacy Research Articles

Lyotard's agonistic pragmatics: on the problem of legitimacy in postmodernity

Where can legitimacy reside in a world in which foundational meta-narratives have fallen apart? To answer this question, we reconstruct the argument that French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard develops in his classic The Postmodern Condition (1979). His proposal is to resume the analysis of language games in terms of a general agonistic, which reveals that the interaction between speech acts constitutes a whole range of power relations. In addition to demonstrating great critical potential, representing the main contribution of that work, Lyotard’s agonistic pragmatics formulates an answer to the problem of legitimation: paralogy, understood as another logic, a logic of difference.

Democratic majority principle in trouble?

Due to a lack of religious or metaphysical orientation in modern Western societies, interpersonal conflicts of interest and value are solved under the premise of individuals acting rationally through the interaction on a free market and the formation of political majorities gaining legislative power. However, the legitimacy of this approach becomes increasingly questionable when it comes to sustainability conflicts. In view of this, Hans Jonas considered the possibility of the need to suspend democratic institutions in favor of a benevolent tyrant to avert a potential catastrophe. Since any form of centralism comes with its own problems of legitimacy, utilizing the more modest orientation claims of prudence ethics is a more promising alternative in deliberations on the justifiability of an occasional suspension of the majority principle without exposing a society to the dangers of domineering arbitrariness.

How do Lithuanian Citizens Perceive the European Parliament? EU Legitimacy Issue and Trust in the European Parliament

This article examines the problem of legitimacy within the EU political system and focuses on the political power and recognition of the only one directly elected EU institution – the European Parliament. Historically, being the weaker house of the EU legislative system, throughout the last decades, the European Parliament has increased the political authority dramatically. These political changes should have risen the participation of the EU citizens in the elections and the legitimacy of this EU institution. Analysing the Lithuanian case, based on the qualitative interviewing of politicians and quantitative survey of citizens, the authors claim that while most of Lithuanians recognise the significance of the European Parliament and the turnout in the European elections has increased, the European Parliamentary elections remain, however, of secondary importance.

More of an Art than a Science: The IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis and the Making of a Public Tool

This paper examines the origins of the IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), a template to facilitate the measurement of a country’s debt sustainability that was introduced in 2002 and further developed in 2003. The template provides a pre-set format for governing the way debt sustainability analyses will be conducted by IMF staff economists. This paper examines how economic knowledge is embedded in the policy template and shows how expertise is shaped to resolve the IMF’s legitimation problems. This paper draws out the role of the public as an indispensable aspect of this process. Previous practice was publicly derided for being unsound and the introduction of the template attempted to make practices comparable across countries. This paper shows that the actual theoretical underpinnings of debt sustainability analysis were less important than how the “public” perceived them. Within the Fund, this “public” was perceived through reference to “the market,” governments as well as an undefined external scrutineer. The paper uses archival material from the Executive Board to show that a significant source of authority that the IMF used to enhance its legitimacy in the public domain arises from the perception of soundness in policy design, in turn relying on a perception of underlying theoretical rigour.

Las claves conceptuales del debate constitucional chileno: poder constituyente, legitimidad de la Constitución y cambio constitucional

Los principales esfuerzos que se han hecho por examinar la cuestión de la legitimidad de la Constitución y la necesidad de cambio constitucional están atados a una concepción soberanista o revolucionaria del poder constituyente que resulta inadecuada para el caso chileno. Esta forma de entender la cuestión constitucional ha llevado a que el debate sea presa tanto de una exagerada fijación con la herencia política y económica de la dictadura, como de un excesivo localismo que, al sobredimensionar las particularidades del caso chileno, impide apreciar sus afinidades con fenómenos más extendidos y mejor estudiados. El abandono de esta concepción del poder constituyente es, así, un primer paso para entender mejor el carácter de la así llamada ‘crisis constitucional’ y del proceso de cambio constitucional que Chile enfrenta. Es más, como se muestra en este artículo, el concepto de descomposición constitucional ofrece una perspectiva más apropiada para entender y discutir la experiencia constitucional chilena.

Legitimidad política en México y policía en zonas de alto conflicto

This paper analyzes the importance of political legitimacy in police actions in Mexico, especially in regions where criminal cartels build strategies that seek to justify their criminal activities through social and political actions that give them the legitimacy that the police lack on local and sub-national governments. The article observes aspects of legitimacy of the National Police of Colombia that can be applied to the Mexican case, specifically to the recently created Mexican National Guard. The analysis focuses on the municipalities of the so-called Tierra Caliente, Michoacana that exemplify the problems of political legitimacy and the difficulties that this implies for police activity.

Controversial Industries, Regional Differences, and Risk: Role of CSR*

AbstractControversial industries such as the alcohol, gambling, tobacco, and firearms sectors have long suffered from organizational legitimacy problems. Using data covering 32 countries, we show that controversial industry firms’ engagement in CSR initiatives has a substantial risk‐decreasing effect, thereby increasing the probability of maintaining the social license to operate. The effect of CSR on firm risk, however, is more pronounced for firms in Europe and North America than in the Asia‐Pacific region, suggesting that the CSR–risk association varies by region. Our results are consistent with the view of the “social license to operate” and the “differential recognition” hypotheses.

Clinician-led evidence-based activism: a critical analysis

ABSTRACT We introduce and critique a previously unexamined form of evidence-based activism (EBA): clinician-led evidence-based activism (CLEBA). In recent years funding of, and access to, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) have been depleted through cuts, privatisation, and the reduction of universal healthcare. In these austere and hostile times, the legitimacy of those drawing attention to resultant health inequalities is eroded. One tactic that doctors have adopted while advocating for the delegitimized has been CLEBA: strategic use of clinical authority in the production and mobilization of knowledge for the governance of health issues. To illustrate the concept, we analyse two cases of CLEBA in the NHS in which we have participated. The first resisting cuts and privatisation of the NHS, the second resisting the charging of forced migrants for healthcare. By analysing CLEBA as a tactic, we show how doctors work to effect progressive goals by lending legitimacy to their allies, who are delegitimised by opponents as ‘loony-left’, ‘shroud-waving’ ‘health tourists’. This approach to the problem of legitimacy separates CLEBA from EBA. Whereas EBA seeks to rebalance unequal social relations within a doctor-patient collective, CLEBA capitalizes on the symbolic power of doctors to contest unequal social relations out with the collective. By lending clinical authority to activist discourses, CLEBA consolidates forms of collective agency in which certain actors remain illegitimate. In contrast with EBA, where the rebalancing of legitimacy itself is prioritized, CLEBA reinforces a hierarchy of legitimacy that places clinicians on top.

Simple rules for a more inclusive economy

This paper explores some of the reasons why capitalism experiences periodic crises of legitimacy and asks whether Richard Epstein’s “simple rules” heuristic can help. The current legitimacy problem is exacerbated by the fact that we are also in a low growth situation. This means that some policy instruments that could have been used to increase legitimacy may no longer be available. The “simple rules” heuristic can help as a guide to reforms that would simultaneously address the legitimacy problem, while avoiding making the growth problem worse.

From sneaking to striding: Combatting competence creep and consolidating the EU legislative process

AbstractThis paper argues that the EU legislative process should be used for taking all decisions at European level that matter, banning the various backroads of European decision‐making (competence creep) that are currently legal but not legitimate. This is a silver bullet, resolving at once a range of seemingly disparate but intimately connected legitimacy problems across all areas of EU activity, that ultimately result from an incorrectly calibrated state of transnational constitutional democracy at EU level, where certain aspects are over‐constitutionalised while others remain fundamentally under‐constitutionalised. This is therefore the key transversal issue that the Conference on the Future of Europe and its ensuing changes should address. The paper makes various concrete proposals to this effect, including for a general legislative competence.

A ‘Tunney Act for Europe’? Settlement and the Re-Judicialisation of European Commission Competition Enforcement

• The use of settlement mechanisms, administered under both Arts.7 and 9 of Regulation 1/2003, has become one of the most common features of European Commission enforcement activity in recent years. • While settlement in itself is unproblematic, one notable result has been a ‘de-judicialisation’ of EU-level enforcement, whereby such cases are shielded from subsequent review by the Union Courts. This has two potential downsides: a precedent problem, and a legitimacy problem. • In order to address these concerns while continuing to reap some of the benefits of settlement, this article proposes to give the Court of Justice a greater role in overseeing the Commission’s settlement practice, through a judicial pre-approval procedure that might be described as a ‘Tunney Act for Europe’. While EU competition enforcement has seen many changes since enactment of Regulation 1/2003, perhaps the most wide-ranging has been the wholesale embracing of settlement within the European...

Bīsotūn Inscription - A Jeopardy of Achaemenid History

According to the currently favoured view among historians of the Persian Empire, the Bīsotūn Inscription is a deceitful piece of propaganda whose purpose was to resolve Darius’s legitimacy problem. To this effect, Darius cobbles a family relation with Cyrus and fabricates the story of a magus who impersonates Smerdis, son of Cyrus, and usurps the throne. This view, however, contradicts not only the Bīsotūn Inscription but also the ancient Greek testimonies. This article examines the arguments historians have given for their position. Since all views of the two issues in question are necessarily interpretations of the relevant sources that rely on argumentation, reasons and inferences must stand up to critical scrutiny.

The Rise and Decline of Soviet Morality: Culture, Ideology, Collective Practices

In the article, it is proposed that the collapse of Soviet society was presaged by a growing crisis in late Soviet morality. On the periphery of late Soviet morality, collective cultural practices are seen to have successfully functioned based on a limited ethics of virtue. In the absence of an alternative to Soviet ideology, social regulation started to draw upon values intended for the reproduction of local communities. A growing contradiction between the limited values of the new social class/corporate entities and the need to develop universal values for a big society is currently the key ideological legitimation problem facing the Russian political order.

ESports diplomacy: towards a sustainable ‘gold rush’

With a marked growth in the industry of esports, this paper examines the epistemological, ethical and operational challenges impacting esports. In exploring the available literature on the esports phenomena, it argues that the current ‘gold rush’ is unsustainable unless the problems of government interference, legitimacy, regulation and inequality within gaming culture are tackled by widening the study of esports. To manage the challenges confronting esports and recognise the potential benefits, this paper proposes that the theory of sports diplomacy be applied to esports. Doing so provides a better framework for understanding and tackling the challenges threatening the growth and legitimacy of esports.

The Future of the European Union in the light of the Crises and the Democratic Legitimacy Problem

Son 10 yıl içinde Avro krizi, göç, Brexitve aşırı sağ partilerin yükselişe geçmesi problemleriyle karşı karşıya kalan Avrupa Birliğinde, Avrupa Birliği’nin geleceği tartışmaları tekrar gündeme gelmiştir. Avrupa Birliği’nin içinde bulunduğu krizler birbirleriyle ilişkili olup, Birliğin kuruluşundan beri var olan ve tadil antlaşmaları ile getirilen değişikliklerle bile çözülemeyen demokratik meşruiyet probleminden kaynaklanmaktadır.Jean Monnet her ne kadar “Avrupa, krizlere girecek ve bu krizler için benimsenen çözümlerin toplamı olacak” dese de, son krizler entegrasyon seviyesini ileriye taşımak yerine Avrupa Birliği’nin geleceğini tehdit etmektedir. Öte yandan aşırı sağ partilerin hem ulusal hem de Avrupa Birliği düzeyinde yükselişe geçmesi Avrupa halklarının Avrupa Birliği’nin entegrasyon sürecini bu haliyle desteklemediklerinin bir göstergesidir. Bu nedenle, Avrupa Birliği’nin bu haliyle yoluna devam edemeyeceği açık olup, krizler, Avrupa Birliği’nin revizyonu için son çağrı olarak yorumlanmalıdır

Why do Ukrainians oppose land sales? The problem of legitimacy of private land tenure in post-Soviet society

ABSTRACT Millions of Ukrainians own land plots but cannot sell them, as the free land market is still restricted. The government of Ukraine is delaying the liberalization of the land market, given the negative attitude of most Ukrainians to the sale of agricultural land. At the same time, the phenomenon of ambivalent consciousness is observed in Ukrainian society, when the negation of the land market and the recognition of land ownership are combined. The article shows that the introduction of the land market encounters not only the resistance of people with anti-market views, but also the general problem of legitimacy of private property as a social institution. Based on a nationwide survey conducted in August 2019 by the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, respondents were asked to determine an acceptable option for land ownership. A detailed analysis of the factors supporting the various options of land ownership indicates that the problem of legitimacy has not only a socio-cultural basis, but also due to chronic impoverishment of the population and the unfinished process of social modernization.

Природно-правова модель легітимності державної влади

У статті розглядаються природно-правові моделі легітимності державної влади. Досліджуються дві основні моделі легітимності державної влади: природно-правова модель і модель легітимності представників теорії юридичного позитивізму, детально проаналізовані концепції кожної з цих моделей. З'ясовано, що принципово важливе значення для розвитку теорії правової держави мала творчість І. Канта. Як і багато інших тогочасних мислителів, він вважав, що держава прийшла на зміну природному станові, в якому не було ніякої гарантії законності. Моральний борг, почуття поваги до природного права спонукають людей полишити цей стан і шляхом суспільного договору перейти до життя у громадянському суспільстві, державі. Суспільний договір укладають між собою морально розвинені люди, тому державі забороняється поводитися з ними як з істотами, котрі не знають морального закону і не можуть самі обрати правильну лінію поведінки. Визначено, що висунення й обґрунтування І. Кантом тверджень про те, що кожна людина є абсолютною і самодостатньою цінністю, що індивіди відмовляються від необмеженої та свавільної свободи природного стану на користь справжньої свободи у правовому стані, що призначення держави полягає в досконалому праві, максимальній відповідності державного устрою принципам права тощо дають підстави вважати його одним із творців теорії правової держави. Доходимо висновку, що найповніше проблема легітимності державної влади була висвітлена основоположниками соціологічної школи права. Характерними ознаками концепції легітимності державної влади соціологічної школи права є ототожнення поняття «легітимність» і «легальність»: вважається, що будь-яка легальна влада автоматично є і легітимною; лише легальна, раціональна влада має легітимний характер; влада належить народу, який не лише формує, але і здійснює контроль за публічною владою, влада і народ виступають як єдине політичне ціле. Державна влада не є безумовною й абсолютною, тому, усвідомивши необхідність їй підкорятися, людина одночасно усвідомлює, що органи державної влади зобов'язані у процесі здійснення своїх функцій дотримуватися юридичних норм, які розмежовують інтереси влади й інтереси особи та суспільства.

The Justification of Privilege in International Investment Law: Preferential Treatment of Foreign Investors as a Problem of Legitimacy

Abstract A fundamental feature of international investment law is that it only applies to foreign investment. This has historical reasons and is connected to deep-rooted principles of international law. It has also been a historical cause of controversy because it requires states to treat foreign investors better than they treat their own nationals. This article shows how the international minimum standard for treatment of foreigners nevertheless developed in a dialogue with such a concern for equality. The article argues that the way in which international investment law has developed in recent years into an effective remedial mechanism that can be invoked by individual foreign investors against host states ignores this historical lesson and now poses a particular challenge to its legitimacy. It privileges foreign investors as a select group worthy of more effective legal protection than ordinarily provided under municipal law, challenging the ideal of equality before the law as a basic constitutional value. The article discusses possible justifications of such privilege, arguing that only a more traditional international minimum standard rationale provides a convincing justification of special treatment of foreign investment. This has important implications for the reform of the current investment regime, suggesting that it should be redesigned to adopt a more supplementary role and deferential attitude to domestic law and courts – for example, through a requirement to exhaust local remedies.

Demokracja i mizantropia. Przemiany wyobrażeń na temat ludu a problem intelektualnego uprawomocnienia demokracji

CEL NAUKOWY: Celem tego artykułu jest analiza związku między wy‑ obrażeniami z zakresu antropologii filozoficznej a problemem intelektualnej prawomocności demokracji.
 PROBLEM I METODY BADAWCZE: W artykule próbuję odpowiedzieć na pytanie, jaki jest związek między poglądami na temat natury ludzkiej a sto‑ sunkiem do demokracji. Analizuję ten problem interpretując klasyczne dzieła z zakresu myśli politycznej.
 PROCES WYWODU: Punktem wyjścia jest konstatacja: niechęć wobec demo‑ kracji wyrastała w dużej mierze z mizantropii. Demokracja nie była uznawana za ustrój godny poparcia, ponieważ nie wierzono w racjonalność zwykłego czło‑ wieka i jego zdolność do odpowiedzialnego uczestnictwa w życiu publicznym. Ta sytuacja zmienia się w epoce Oświecenia, kiedy to podważono pesymizm antropologiczny i sformułowane zostały teorie stanowiące podstawę dla idei intelektualnej prawomocności demokracji. Późniejszy bieg wypadków w du‑ żym stopniu te teorie zakwestionował, ale mimo to demokracja na Zachodzie uznawana jest za jedyną prawomocną formę rządu.
 WYNIKI ANALIZY NAUKOWEJ: Analiza prowadzi do sformułowania poglądu o paradoksalnym charakterze współczesnej demokracji. Z jednej stro‑ ny, istnieje konsensus co do intelektualnej prawomocności demokracji, z dru‑ giej – w teorii i praktyce powszechnie kwestionowana jest zdolność zwykłego człowieka do rozumnego uczestnictwa w życiu publicznym.
 WNIOSKI, INNOWACJE, REKOMENDACJE: Wyniki analizy powinny skłonić politologa do zmiany sposobu rozumienia charakteru współczesnej demo‑ kracji. Ustrój ten nosi nazwę demokracja, ale wydaje się mieć coraz mniej wspól‑ nego z nadziejami tych autorów, którzy sformułowali jej intelektualne założenia.

True EU citizenship as a precursor to genuine criminal justice in Europe: an analysis of EU citizenship as it relates to a sustainable area of freedom, security and justice

This paper traces developments - both legal and political in nature - relating to EU citizenship and compares the status quo to what individuals might expect from citizenship particularly within the context of criminal proceedings. Drawing upon debates in political science, it highlights the divergence between EU citizenship and what would normally be associated with any idea of citizenship. Exploring the parameters of European criminal justice and its revolutionary direction of travel, this essay highlights how strongly exposed EU citizens are to enhanced coercive state power within criminal proceedings because of this status. Consequently it advances an argument that reasonable expectations of citizenship are set up to be disappointed in the current context. This is particularly true as the CJEU scales back the protections associated with EU citizenship in the face of political pressure. It argues that the loss of legitimacy the EU may suffer as a result affects not only its relationship to citizens. As the European institutions take action against democratically elected governments viewed as in breach of fundamental EU values, its potential as a policy-laundering governance level in the criminal justice arena is identified as an enormous legitimacy problem. Analysing developments relevant to citizenship from a criminal justice perspective, this paper demonstrates that reform is urgently required. Leaving EU citizenship in its current form - shaped by Executive powers - is argued to expose the EU to legitimacy arguments it cannot win, as well as individual citizens to injustice in criminal proceedings.