Legitimation Process Research Articles

Mechanisms of Control and Media Protagonism in Management

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of control and media protagonism in the management of epidemics in order to demonstrate the influence that the media in association with the State and large private corporations exert on human behavior. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underlie the research are presented. The issue of fear arising from contagion in a scenario of disease outbreaks, aspects of collective behavior and the use of institutional and media control methods are highlighted, providing a solid basis for understanding the context of the investigation. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises the survey and selection of journalistic texts containing national and international coverage of outbreaks of contagious diseases to organize the corpus of comparative analysis of the influence on the process of legitimization of prophylaxis, surveillance and control measures. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that the media is established with other possibilities besides surveillance, in which control is something even more present, and its role will be that of control through discourse. In the discussion section, these results are contextualized in the light of the theoretical framework, highlighting the implications and relationships identified. Possible discrepancies and limitations of the study are also considered in this section. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the fields of communication and health, in relation to the construction of the media narrative about public health with possible developments in relation to the vaccination campaigns that followed the epidemic and the pandemic that are the objects of this study. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating, in different scenarios separated from each other by a decade, but characterized by the worldwide dissemination of contagious diseases, the performance of the same logic of control and media protagonism. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by the demonstration of the need for the journalist to perceive in his professional practice the asphyxiating implications arising from the control by the discourse imposed by the media on society.

Organic Community Leadership: An Integrated Perspective

Community, characterised by reciprocity and mutuality, represents one of the fundamental bases upon which society is built. Community leadership is a distinct leadership style that refers to civic-minded individuals who voluntarily and organically self-organise and devote their efforts towards leading issues of importance within their communities. This organic community leadership is a ‘collective relational phenomenon’ that is favoured in dynamic environments; the voluntary action of people within a community can help tackle community challenges at scale, with speed, and result in grassroot innovations. Despite its positive role in society, community leadership faces additional challenges to leadership in organisational settings, including understanding the spatial boundaries of a domain which spans different social fields, fostering linkages among groups where there is no formal authorisation, being receptive to varying ideologies, capabilities, and divergent viewpoints to foster collaboration, and managing unequal power distribution and divergent political agendas. The above opportunities and challenges posed by community leadership has meant that the past few decades have seen growing attention placed on the study of community leadership. Gaps remain in the body of knowledge in supporting the effective execution of community leadership. Authors argue that the leadership literature remains fragmented, many leadership frameworks/models remain agnostic of context, and there is a need for improved understanding of where and by whom leadership is enacted. Most studies to date concentrate on discrete aspects of the community leadership sphere. A more integrated perspective on organic community leadership is needed. Based on a SLR, this paper presents an integrated framework for organic community leadership. The framework emphasises human agency and fostering the collective efficacy of a broad coalition of community stakeholders to work towards a common purpose. It recognises the legitimisation process of emerging leaders and key leader behavioural considerations, framed within the context of fostering an appropriate environment for community cohesion, collaboration, and action. Thus, this paper takes a step towards providing a more holistic stance on the community leadership phenomenon.

Social legitimisation of social work: Strategies to further professional status and recognition in Nepal

Despite its three-decade history, social work lacks professional status in Nepal. Drawing on authors’ own critical reflection, this article documents strategies to advance social work’s professional status through a process of social legitimation. Following a brief discussion of social work in Nepal, it reports on issues pertinent to, and efforts, thus far, to professionalise social work noting strategies to advance professional identity, status and recognition in Nepal.

Legitimizing Religious Influencers: A Case Study of Evangelical Celebrities on Instagram

Abstract Studies of social media influencers often focus on their ability to convey authenticity to their audiences. Influencer studies focused on individual influencers without acknowledging their belonging to larger collectives or how influencers are “legitimized” as belonging to that collective. This article argues that studying religious influencers is one way of exploring legitimacy on social media as distinct from authenticity; religious influencers implicitly belong to religious collectives that must legitimize these influencers as representatives of the collective. Using evangelical Christian celebrity influencers on Instagram as a case study, this article explores the heuristic of legitimacy and specific strategies these figures discursively and rhetorically employ to legitimize themselves within the collective. These tactics shed light on some of the social media operations of a fluctuating evangelical culture in the United States, and provide insights into the general processes of legitimation for influencers on social media today.

Public Legitimation of Foreign Policy Decisions Through Discursive Practices: Truman Doctrine, Foreign Affairs Magazine and the Dissemination of Anti-Communist Discourse in the US

In liberal democracies, it is generally believed that policies are made in accordance with public opinion. Foreign policy decisions are no exception. While pursuing a certain path, decision-makers often have future elections in mind. As a result, public opinion becomes a determining factor in foreign policy-making processes. This paper, however, takes a different perspective. It argues that the media, particularly in the form of think-tank articles written by experts with years of government and private expertise, may facilitate public compliance with official policies via efforts to ensure public consent with the application of a common discursive framework. To be considered as properly specialized on a specific topic, authors should be either members of the elite or closely associated with them. Because of their authors’ expertise, these articles may be very powerful and influential in disseminating information to the public. In times when disseminated information is carefully filtered, this practice provides the legitimation necessary in a liberal democracy. Therefore, official foreign policy texts such as presidential doctrines and think-tank publications written by experts share a textual domain. On that basis, this study explores textual relationships in the United States in the early Cold War era by examining the legitimation process of formal foreign policy declarations of presidents via articles published in Foreign Affairs magazine. A poststructuralist research design is employed to discuss intertextual links between the Truman Doctrine and selected articles from Foreign Affairs within an anti-communist framework. Using Lene Hansen’s Model 2 discourse analysis, this article investigates the discursive domains of these two types of texts. It is concluded that the articles from Foreign Affairs are intertextually linked to the Truman Doctrine and they legitimized official US foreign policy conduct in the eyes of the American public prior to and following the declaration of the doctrine.

Legitimation strategies in emerging ecosystems: The case of advanced air mobility in Hamburg

This study provides insights into the legitimation process of emerging ecosystems and strengthens the conceptual link between entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic geography. It examines existing theoretical frameworks on legitimation strategies in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems by inquiring into advanced air mobility (AAM), an area in which innovation faces exceptionally high legitimation challenges. The initial integration of drones for logistics and air taxis for passenger transport is surrounded by ambiguous future visions that range from high expectations to concerns about developing a mobility form that is neither sustainable nor socially acceptable and affordable. Empirically, this article offers an analytical understanding of the collective legitimation strategies within the emerging AAM ecosystem in Hamburg, Germany. For this, we used multiple qualitative methods and data sources: (1) a contextualizing network analysis, (2) semi-structured interviews with 22 representatives of tech and policy development, and (3) participatory observation from applied research projects. Based on the empirical material, we find that the current conceptual debate underestimates the public sector's role in ecosystem emergence and legitimation. As AAM depends on fundamental regulatory change, authorities and state-owned companies in the aviation sector have a decisive influence on the emergence of the ecosystem. Furthermore, our findings highlight how global discourses shape local practices and expectations. By combining cross-sectoral knowledge, entrepreneurs and policymakers aim to identify feasible use cases for their place-specific context. Nevertheless, the lack of a collective identity within the ecosystem, which comes largely from the uncertainties of AAM, poses numerous challenges for ecosystem participants addressing their liability of newness.

Knowledge, Influence and Accountability: A Study of Political‒Administrative Relations and Civil Servant Influence on Two Rural Swedish Citizen Dialogues

One of the current challenges of democracy is the increasing complexity of governing and, consequently, increasing civil servant influence at the expense of elected representatives. This is also affected by what politician–civil servant relations look like and by contextual aspects, although knowledge about the extent and impact of this influence is selective. Thus, this paper examines civil servants’ influence in evidently complex and resource-intensive processes by conducting a study of citizen dialogues in two rural Swedish municipalities. Expectedly, traits of this context can be recognised throughout the results. The findings point to the position of the involved civil servants as important to the level of civil servant influence in these processes. They further suggest that process complexity may contribute to amplifying already high civil servant influence. However, they also confirm expectations about civil servants’ dispositions towards political legitimate processes, which appeared to dampen the impact of the skewed influence. I conclude that, with these contextual preconditions, the studied form of process can potentially increase civil servant influence. I also argue that, given the size and form of this study, this highlights the need for further studies in local rural contexts and local politician–civil servant relations.

From Humour to Impact: Internet Memes in Political Discourse through (de)legitimization

Internet memes, as artifacts of digital culture, quickly spread political ideas and critiques, transcending traditional media. Despite their prevalence, understanding how memes use semiotic elements and (de)legitimization strategies to shape political narratives on social media is limited. This research investigates how semiotic representations and (de)legitimization processes materialize in political discourse through social media memes. Using Van Leeuwen's (2005, 2007) framework of social semiotics and (de)legitimization strategies, we analyzed the visual and textual elements of 47 memes collected from January to July 2024; we selected 11 memes that represent Van Leeuwen's (de)legitimization strategies. The study revealed that memes convey complex political messages using semiotic resources, including color, gesture, and text. Intertextuality, humor, irony, rationalization, and moral evaluation are commonly used to criticize or support political figures and ideologies. This highlights the dynamic role of social media in political communication, where memes rapidly influence public perception. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding semiotic and rhetorical strategies in political communication analysis. The study contributes to the discourse of digital political communication by showing how memes, as cultural artifacts, shape political narratives and legitimacy. The research has significant implications for political strategists, communicators, and academics interested in the intersection of media, politics, and culture.

Uma abordagem discursiva das estratégias de legitimação do telejornalismo

This study discusses the processes of legitimization of Brazilian television journalism based on the identification and analysis of discursive strategies used by Jornal Nacional, broadcast by Rede Globo. Aiming to investigate how the events reported by the news affect the discursive legitimation strategies developed in the coverage, three journalistic events were selected for analysis: the dam failure in Brumadinho; the increase in fires in the Amazon, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This investigation has the analysis of discourse at three levels – situational, discursive, and semiolinguistic – proposed by Charaudeau as its theoretical-methodological basis. The main identified discursive legitimation strategies refer to self-referentiality, appropriation of amateur content, instantaneity, and didacticity, the operationalization of which is influenced by the complexity of the situational level of each event, understood as a space of coercion.

Unilateral consensus: Legitimation as a societal phenomenon in Luhmannian systems theory

AbstractFor Niklas Luhmann, the political system's primary function is the establishment of decision premises for future decisions, with these decisions being applied across different societal subsystems. However, Luhmann recognized that this resulted in the political system running the risk of de‐differentiating itself when producing collectively binding decisions. Luhmann solved this problem by restricting the political system's role, relegating it to society's sidelines. But there are many examples of where we would want the benefits of collectively binding decisions in society, such as planning systems. This raises the question how can we have decisions that serve as premises for future decisions across societal subsystems while maintaining each system's differentiation and legitimacy? To answer this question, we will redouble our focus on meaning in considering each system's legitimation process. Through the lens of meaning, we will show how legitimation can bring independent systems to make shared decisions, thus producing unilateral consensus.

Foreign identity and organizational crises: Evidence in the U.S. automobile industry

Multinational corporations (MNCs) adeptly manage Liabilities of Foreignness (LOF) and Assets of Foreignness (AOF) to their advantage, and central to this endeavor is the strategic management of their foreign identity. Our research identifies a critical context where foreign identity remains a liability: organizational crises. Drawing on organizational identity and legitimation process theories, we contend that foreign firms face greater legitimacy losses compared to domestic firms during crises due to magnified foreign identity and differences in legitimacy standards. Furthermore, a crisis in one foreign firm can trigger stronger negative spillover effects on other foreign firms than on domestic firms. We test our theory through an analysis of US automobile recall events, demonstrating significant legitimacy impacts for foreign firms. Our findings illuminate the complex dynamics of foreign identity management, offering new insights into the persistent challenges of LOF during times of crisis.

Public Critique by Journalists and Politicians as a Process of Democratic Legitimization

This theoretical article takes a fresh look at the relationship between journalists and politicians, based on the public critique they level at each other. It proposes that this critique should be seen not simply as the expression of reproaches between rival actors, but as a meaningful metadiscursive articulation. Public critique means, for example, defining journalism, politics, democracy, or a particular context in which the relationship between journalists and politicians takes place. Above all, public critique is part of a process of legitimization that involves journalists and politicians, who are increasingly mistrustful of institutions. Associated with the public arena, public critique is also a tool for understanding new democratic dynamics driven by noninstitutional actors (citizens’ movements or alternative media) that challenge the legitimacy of journalists and politicians.

Immersion and Distancing

The departure of a charismatic leader in an authoritarian system poses substantial risks for regime durability. Designated succession guarantees a smooth transfer of power and reduces the danger to regime longevity. The manner in which political successors leverage and institutionalize charismatic attachments to regime founders is crucial in determining their own and the regime’s political survival. This article presents a new theoretical framework for examining the process of post-charismatic legitimation in two personalistic autocracies: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Authoritarian power justification can be understood through two modes of post-charismatic succession: immersion and distancing. If successfully performed, charismatic attachments and public loyalties to regime founders transfer to their appointees, reviving existing power narratives: an immersion strategy. However, if the charismatic leader loses popular support, the distancing strategy allows an anointed heir to reject patronal legacies. The comparison between post-charismatic successions in Baku and Astana demonstrates the practical implications of the immersion and distancing approaches to legitimation. This analysis is based on expert interviews, fieldwork notes, and archival data.

Trayectoria y Contradicciones del Programa de Atención a Jornaleros Agrícolas en Hermosillo, Sonora, 1990-2018

The article presents the history of the Attention to Agricultural Workers Program (PAJA) in Hermosillo, Sonora, now extinct. The goal is to explain this federal pro-gram, that focused on agricultural work by migrants, as a part of the formation of a neoliberal state in Mexico. Using political anthropology, the article analyzes the set of practices, ideologies, and representations of the state that gave the PAJA its shape from 1990 to 2018. The text derives from a historical and regional ethnographic study made between 2018 and 2023 on social policies applied to agricultural land in Sonora. The article draws on interviews with former PAJA employees, participant observation in government offices, and the consultation of official documents. The main argument is that the PAJA served to promote the expansion and consolidation of agricultural corporations. The article contributes to studies of the state and migrant agricultural work, by presenting processes of depoliticization, control, and legitimization of the exploitation of labor on agricultural land

Advocating for the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Against the Odds: Strategies and Legitimation

AbstractDeveloping legislation to counter the negative impacts of businesses' transnational activities on human rights and the environment is a recent trend. Supporters of such legislation have campaigned to convince policy‐makers to adopt strong law, but this legitimation process has not been theorised. Using Vaara et al.'s theoretical framework, we uncover the six discursive legitimation strategies used by the proponents of the European Union (EU) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) to legitimise its creation. Based on interviews with proponents, we offer two main findings. First, the directive's supporters seek to reverse the narrative that legislation with extraterritorial implications is neo‐colonial by arguing instead that the neoliberal status quo exemplifies neo‐colonial exploitation. Second, non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) can convince businesses of the directive's advantages by using playing down, mimicry and rationalisation as discursive legitimation strategies. These findings have major implications for debates on how to make the CSDDD effective in regulating business operations in the Global South.

Challenging Political Representation in the Era of Big Data

This article deals with the problem of the change in the theoretical conception and practical realisation of political representation in the era of big data, i.e. in the 20th and 21st century, when IT data processes have become an almost integral part of the political life of citizens. Based on the concepts of the philosophers F. Ankersmit and J. Baudrillard, the article analyses why, despite the arguments of critical data studies, the forms of political representation affected by big data are still considered objective. After presenting research on the characteristics of political representation in the information technology-dominated public sphere and smart cities, the article identifies signs of the decline of contemporary political representation: the compression of public space and the legitimation processes of datafication facilitated by big data in the smart city. The continuation of the article’s theme and the analysis of the problems are recommended to be pursued in the field of post-political discussions.

MACROPRUDENTIAL POLICIES CAPITAL FLOW MANAGEMENT

This article aims to present the legitimization process of macroprudential capital flow management policies as a tool for economic stability after 2009, when such policies started to have the support of multilateral institutions such as the IMF. To this end, we conducted extensive bibliographical research, bringing together several academic strands to present how this process of transformation and acceptance developed and the motivations, impacts, and effective results of these policies. As a result, we verified that the use and effectiveness of these management strategies must follow an arrangement in which their scope must involve several other policies of the fiscal, macroprudential, monetary, exchange rate, and capital control, mainly in emerging economies and in these cases, reduce financial fragility and maintain the macroeconomic stability of these countries in the face of adverse shocks to the balance of payments caused by excessive capital inflows or outflows, mitigating the resulting externalities in the process.Keywords: Macroprudential policies / Stability / Capital flow

Methodology for Collecting Data on the Activity of Malware for Windows OS Based on MITRE ATT&CK

The digitalization of the modern economy has led to the emergence of information technologies in various areas of human activity. In addition to positive effects, this has enhanced the problem of countering cyber threats. The implementation of cyber threats often impacts serious consequences, especially when it comes to critical information infrastructure. Malware is an important part of the modern landscape of cyber threats; the most high-profile cybercrimes of recent years are associated with the use of malware. In this regard, the problem area of countering malware is actively developing, and one of the promising areas of research in this area is the creation of methods for detecting malware based on machine learning. However, the weak point of many well-known studies is the construction of reliable data sets for machine learning models, when the authors do not disclose the features of the formation, preprocessing and labeling of data on malware. This fact compromises the reproducibility a lot of studies. This paper proposes a methodology for collecting data on malware activity based on the MITRE ATT&CK matrix and Sigma rules and designed for Windows OS. The proposed methodology is aimed at improving the quality of datasets containing malware and legitimate processes behavior’s features, as well as at reducing the time of data label by an expert method. A software stand was prepared and experiments were carried out for testing the methodology. The results of experiments confirmed applicability of our methodology.

‘What gives you the right?’ Foreign policymakers’ perceptions of the legitimacy of sanctions against democratic breakdown in Venezuela (2014–2019)

Drawing on contemporary debates on legitimacy and contestation in international relations, the article offers a novel analytical framework to study processes of legitimation and delegitimation of international sanctions. We apply the framework to analyse foreign policymakers’ evaluations of the legitimacy of the sanctions imposed by states and international organisations against Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela. The content analysis of evaluative statements shows that (de)legitimation processes focus mostly on who has the right to enforce sanctions and reveals differentiated legitimacy evaluations of multilateral versus unilateral enforcers, as well as of different types of international organisations. Sanctions imposed by multilateral senders and with a restricted impact on targeted individuals are evaluated as more legitimate than unilateral sanctions with a wider scope. We argue that the study of the (de)legitimation of sanctions may have important implications not only for enhancing compliance, but especially for transforming international sanctions into a legitimate mechanism of global governance.

Bolstering the Boys Club: Security Vetting, Diversity and Diplomatic Gatekeeping

Summary Much of the research on gender and diplomacy has focused on those already let into the ‘club’. This article analyses the ‘threshold’ to diplomacy: security clearance processes. Security vetting ultimately determines who progresses, and what level of clearance (and therefore seniority or position) a diplomat can achieve. This article seeks to trace the journey for individuals entering a diplomatic career. It argues that security vetting is simultaneously based on legitimate processes for assessing potential national security threats, and on values interpretation (such as loyalty, maturity and trustworthiness) which may invite bias or lead to illegitimate processes of exclusion. By excavating the gendered history of vetting, we can better understand the limitations of the current de-historicised and ‘impartial’ process. We argue that clearance processes have not sufficiently evolved over the past decades of social progress, which has negative implications for the evolution of diplomacy as a social practice.