Self-legitimation in the face of politicization: Why international organizations centralized public communication

Ecker-Ehrhardt, Matthias

doi:10.1007/s11558-017-9287-y

Cited by 73 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…They include the establishment of new IO bodies, reforms of existing institutions, changes to substantive policies, and the creation of public relations functions. Over recent decades, many IOs have adopted public information policies, accountability mechanisms, and procedures for civil society interaction, often interpreted as attempts by IOs to strengthen their legitimacy through better conformance to democratic norms (Grigorescu 2007;Tallberg et al 2014;Heupel and Zürn 2016;Ecker-Ehrhardt 2018). Similarly, reforms that upgrade the representation and weight of emerging powers within global IOs are regularly seen as efforts to safeguard the legitimacy of these organizations beyond Europe and North America (Stephen 2015Stephen and Zürn forthcoming).…”

Section: Legitimation and Delegitimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations: introduction and framework

2019

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While legitimacy dynamics are paramount in global governance, they have been insufficiently recognized, conceptualized, and explained in standard accounts of international cooperation. This special issue aims to advance the empirical study of legitimacy and legitimation in global governance. It engages with the question of when, how, and why international organizations (IOs) gain, sustain, and lose legitimacy in world politics. In this introduction, we first conceptualize legitimacy as the belief that an IO's authority is appropriately exercised, and legitimation and delegitimation as processes of justification and contestation intended to shape such beliefs. We then discuss sources of variation in legitimation processes and legitimacy beliefs, with a particular focus on the authority, procedures, and performances of IOs. Finally, we describe the methods used to empirically study legitimacy and legitimation, preview the articles of the special issue, and chart next steps for this research agenda.

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Section: Legitimation and Delegitimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations: introduction and framework

2019

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“…). Politicisation thus ‘drives organizations to engage in strategic communication in order to manage legitimacy’ (Ecker‐Ehrhardt ).…”

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Undermining, defusing or defending European integration? Assessing public communication of European executives in times of EU politicisation

Rauh

Bes

Schoonvelde

2019

European J Political Res

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How do mainstream political executives cue their politicised constituencies on European integration? Moving beyond static expectations that EU politicisation induces executives to either undermine, defuse or defend integration, this article theorises executives' incentives under different configurations of public and partisan Euroscepticism in their home countries. Expectations are tested on the sentiment and complexity that executives attach to European integration in almost 9,000 public speeches delivered throughout the Euro Crisis. It is found that national leaders faced with sceptical public opinion and low levels of partisan Euroscepticism rhetorically undermine integration, whereas European Commissioners faced with similar conditions are prone to defend it. These responses intensify disproportionally with growing public Euroscepticism, but are moderated by Eurosceptic party strength in surprising ways. When such challenger parties come closer to absorbing the Eurosceptic potential in public opinion, executive communication turns more positive again but also involves less clear rhetorical signals. These findings move beyond existing uniform expectations on mainstream responses to Eurosceptic challenges and highlight the relevance of different domestic configurations of EU politicisation.

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“…11 Public relations initiatives involve legitimacy-enhancing communications or expressing commitment to legitimate norms ('impression management') (Allen and Caillouet 1994;Bansal and Clelland 2004;Ecker-Ehrhardt 2017). While promises of reform in the future may also mollify critics, they come at the price of conceding illegitimacy today (Meyer and Rowan 1977, 356).…”

Section: Organizational Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legitimacy Deficits of International Organizations: design, drift, and decoupling at the UN Security Council

Stephen

2018

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

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Self-legitimation in the face of politicization: Why international organizations centralized public communication

Cited by 73 publications

References 75 publications

The legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations: introduction and framework

The legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations: introduction and framework

Undermining, defusing or defending European integration? Assessing public communication of European executives in times of EU politicisation

Legitimacy Deficits of International Organizations: design, drift, and decoupling at the UN Security Council

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