The legitimacy of global governance: Theory, ethics, and empirics

Abstract

Is global governance legitimate? Scholars traditionally distinguish between the concepts of normative and empirical/sociological legitimacy. The former refers to a purported objective legitimacy based on normative standards pertaining to democracy, equity, or effectiveness, for example. The latter concept relates to subjective legitimacy based on perceptions by the subjects of governance, for example, citizens. While research generally relates to one or the other type of legitimacy, this panel aims to bring these two worlds together to stimulate fruitful debates between political theorists and empirical social scientists. Are present-day global governance institutions legitimate or not? What are the normative standards underlying such assessments? How do citizens perceive contemporary global governance institutions? What implications do perceptions of global governance legitimacy or illegitimacy have? Which alternatives to contemporary global governance institutions are conceivable to improve their legitimacy – both normatively and empirically? While there is much overlap in the substance of questions that different scholars ask, their focus and answers are different yet complementary. By promoting the dialogue between scholars from different disciplines and subfields, this panel aims to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration on a much-debated and important topic in contemporary world politics.

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