The Interplay between Delegitimation and Legitimation

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter analyzes the interplay between one behavioral delegitimation practice—civil society protest—and global governance institution (GGI) legitimation practices. It demonstrates how the type of protest (diffuse or specific) and the extent to which protesters are recognized by the targeted GGI determine when and how civil society protest triggers legitimation responses by GGIs. Empirically, it investigates four cases of civil society protest against three different types of GGIs active in the field of economic policy: the regional intergovernmental organization ASEAN, the World Bank as a global intergovernmental organization, and the transgovernmental network G20. The chapter shows that diffuse protests, challenging the overall authority of the G20, led to symbolic legitimation when the chair (Australia) recognized protesters as a relevant audience but ignored them when the successive chair (Turkey) did not recognize civil society protesters. Protests against specific policies of the World Bank led to substantial legitimation in the form of real policy change as this particular GGI recognized protesters as significant actors. In contrast, specific protests against the ASEAN, which did not grant the same recognition to civil society protesters, were ignored.