Legitimacy Politics: Elite Communication and Public Opinion in Global Governance

Lisa Dellmuth; Jonas Tallberg

doi:10.1017/9781009222020

Legitimacy Politics

Elite Communication and Public Opinion in Global Governance

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Koliev, Faradj Page, Douglas and Tallberg, Jonas 2022. The Domestic Impact of International Shaming. Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 86, Issue. 3, p. 748.

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Uhlin, Anders and Verhaegen, Soetkin 2023. Elites’ (De)legitimation Practices toward International Organizations. Global Studies Quarterly, Vol. 3, Issue. 2,

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Dellmuth, Lisa 2024. Regional inequalities and political trust in a global context. Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 31, Issue. 6, p. 1516.

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Chu, Sinan Holbig, Heike Narlikar, Amrita and Plagemann, Johannes 2024. In the Eyes of the Beholders: The Legitimacy of Global Governance Institutions under Multipolarity. International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 68, Issue. 2,

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Schmidtke, Henning Schirmer, Swantje Krösche, Niklas and Lenz, Tobias 2024. The Legitimation of International Organizations: Introducing a New Dataset. International Studies Perspectives, Vol. 25, Issue. 1, p. 86.

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Olczak, Nicholas and Dellmuth, Lisa 2024. Elite Concerns and Attitudes about Problem Solving through International Organizations. Global Studies Quarterly, Vol. 5, Issue. 1,

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Zürn, Michael 2024. Public sphere and global governance. Philosophy & Social Criticism, Vol. 50, Issue. 1, p. 255.

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Koliev, Faradj and Bäckstrand, Karin 2024. The Public Legitimacy of Multistakeholder Partnerships in Global Environmental Governance: Evidence from Survey Experiments in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Global Environmental Politics, Vol. 24, Issue. 2, p. 146.

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Schmidtke, Henning and Lenz, Tobias 2024. Expanding or defending legitimacy? Why international organizations intensify self-legitimation. The Review of International Organizations, Vol. 19, Issue. 4, p. 753.

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Vuorelma, Johanna and Lehtonen, Pinja 2025. Performing Authority in Times of Crisis: Six Frames of Contested Authority During the Pandemic Era in Finland. Scandinavian Political Studies, Vol. 48, Issue. 2,

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Kreuder-Sonnen, Christian and Zangl, Bernhard 2025. The politics of IO authority transfers: explaining informal internationalisation and unilateral renationalisation. Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 32, Issue. 4, p. 954.

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Özdemir, Sina F Graneng, Kristine and de Wilde, Pieter 2025. EU executives on social media: Assessing the potential and trajectories of legitimation via public communication on Twitter. European Union Politics,

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Lisa Dellmuth, Stockholms Universitet, Jonas Tallberg, Stockholms Universitet

Publisher:: Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:: January 2023
Print publication year:: 2023
Online ISBN:: 9781009222020
DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009222020
Creative Commons:: This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/creativelicenses

Subjects:: Politics and International Relations, International Relations and International Organisations, Comparative Politics

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Once staunch advocates of international cooperation, political elites are increasingly divided over the merits of global governance. Populist leaders attack international organizations for undermining national democracy, while mainstream politicians defend their importance for solving transboundary problems. Bridging international relations, comparative politics, and cognitive psychology, Lisa Dellmuth and Jonas Tallberg explore whether, when, and why elite communication shapes the popular legitimacy of international organizations. Based on novel theory, experimental methods, and comparative evidence, they show that elites are influential in shaping how citizens perceive global governance and explain why some elites and messages are more effective than others. The book offers fresh insights into major issues of our day, such as the rise of populism, the power of communication, the backlash against global governance, and the relationship between citizens and elites. It will be of interest to scholars and students of international organisations, and experimental and survey research methods.

‘Lisa Dellmuth and Jonas Tallberg provide in Legitimacy Politics the most comprehensive and differentiated account of elite communication and beliefs about International Organizations. It shows recent trends, establishes the importance of elite messages, and shows under which conditions they matter most. The book is a must for those interested in the future of global governance, but also in the field of legitimacy and legitimation in general.’

Michael Zürn - WZB Berlin Social Science Center

‘A real feat and treat. Dellmuth and Tallberg take knowledge of legitimacy in global governance to important new ground, with probing theory, innovative method, and revealing empirics. A path-breaking demonstration that elite communications matter in global as well as domestic politics.’

Jan Aart Scholte - Leiden University and University of Duisburg-Essen

“This impressive study disentangles the complex ways in which political elites shape public perceptions of the virtues and pitfalls of such global institutions. Public interest in the activities of an international organization determines whether government leaders will support its work, which in turn influences how effective it can be on the global stage.”

G. John Ikenberry Source: Foreign Affairs

“Legitimacy Politics is a timely, ambitious, detailed, connective, and accessible Book … By building on the book, future research can continue to help us make sense of a world in which IO tasks may be growing, but IO legitimacy is under fire.”

Tana Johnson and Tatiana Cruz Source: Review of International Organizations

‘… the most comprehensive study to date of whether, why, and when elite communication shapes the popular legitimacy of [international organisations].’

Richard Clark Source: Political Science Quarterly

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Legitimacy Politics

Elite Communication and Public Opinion in Global Governance

This Book has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by Crossref.

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Contents

Legitimacy Politics
pp i-ii

Legitimacy Politics - Title page
pp iii-iii

Copyright page
pp iv-iv

Contents
pp v-v

Figures
pp vi-vii

Tables
pp viii-viii

Acknowledgments
pp ix-xi

Abbreviations
pp xii-xiv

1 - Introduction
pp 1-25

2 - Legitimacy and Communication in Global Governance
pp 26-59

3 - A Theory of Elite Influence and Popular Legitimacy
pp 60-89

4 - Communication by Global Elites
pp 90-117

5 - Communication by Domestic Elites
pp 118-150

6 - Communication about Procedure and Performance
pp 151-176

7 - Communication about Authority and Purpose
pp 177-206

8 - Conclusion
pp 207-226

References
pp 227-255

Index
pp 256-260

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Legitimacy Politics

Elite Communication and Public Opinion in Global Governance

Book description

Reviews

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Contents

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