Elite Perceptions of Legitimacy in Global and Regional Governance

In the context of global interdependence, national and global actors convene in global and regional governance institutions (GRGIs). While elites are central in governing, defending and contesting these governance institutions, we know very little about their attitudes toward GRGIs. As elites’ attitudes about the role and functioning of GRGIs influence how they act in and towards GRGIs, we aim to fill this gap. This paper offers the first systematic examination of elite perceptions of the legitimacy of GRGIs. It addresses three main questions. First, what are the principal patterns in elites’ legitimacy perceptions across countries, GRGIs, and types of elites? Second, how do considerations of democracy, effectiveness, and fairness in global governance contribute to elites’ legitimacy perceptions? Third, to what extent does the importance of these considerations for legitimacy perceptions vary across types of political/societal and national/global elites? Empirically, the paper examines elite perceptions of legitimacy of GRGIs based on a unique survey of over 700 political and societal elites in six countries (Brazil, Germany, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, and the United States) and at the global level in relation to a broad range of GRGIs in the areas of economics, sustainable development and security. People in leading positions in politically relevant organizations in the sectors of government, bureaucracy, media, research, civil society and business are interviewed. The findings of the paper have implications for ongoing debates about legitimacy, (de)legitimation and effectiveness in global governance. By using the empirically innovative approach of large-scale survey interviews among a broad variety of elites, the paper contributes to a broad range of aspects addressed in recent research on global interdependence. First, it studies the perceptions of legitimacy among governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental actors. Second, the paper shows how elites look at the rules, norms and principles that are shaped and negotiated in GRGIs, and how their evaluations of and expectations about these aspects of international organizations are reflected in their perceptions of legitimacy of these GRGIs. Third, perceptions of legitimacy of GRGIs are studied in the issue areas of economics, sustainable development and security.