Rethinking Legitimacy and International Institutions

This project departs from the observation that legitimacy has become important for international institutions but is also strongly contested. Far from constituting a ‘property’ of international institutions, legitimacy is performed and disputed through discursive practices. While international organizations seek legitimacy, states and other actors engage in dynamic processes of (de-)legitimation. Legitimacy talk is utilised as a tool for political contestation, but can also serve important mediating functions. Rethinking the legitimacy of international institutions needs to take into account two key dimensions: the meanings attached to concepts of legitimacy as they play out in political disputes, and its capacity for adaptation and change over time.

Selected Publications

Stephen, Matthew D. (2018): "Legitimacy Deficits of International Organizations. Design, Drift, and Decoupling at the UN Security Council". In: Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Vol. 31, No. 1, S. 96-121.

Stephen, Matthew D. (2015): "'Can You Pass the Salt?'. The Legitimacy of International Institutions and Indirect Speech". In: European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 21, No. 4, S. 768-792. (vorab online publiziert 3. März 2015)

Zürn, Michael/Stephen, Matthew (2010): "The View of Old and New Powers on the Legitimacy of International Institutions". In: Politics, Vol. 30, No. S1, Special Issue "Perspectives on the Changing Global Distribution of Power", edited by Alasdair R. Young/Jane Duckett/Paul Graham, S. 91-101.