Klaus Dingwerth, Antonia Witt, Ina Lehmann, Ellen Reichel and Tobias Weise: International Organisations under Pressure: Legitimating Global Governance in Challenging Times

In: Mezinárodní vztahy: Czech journal of international relations, Band 56, Heft 1, S. 117-123

Abstract

The book reconstructs how the normative yardsticks that underpinevaluations of international organizations have changed since 1970. Basedon in-depth case studies of normative change in five internationalorganizations over a period of five decades, the authors argue that, thesedays, international organizations confront a longer and moreheterogeneous list of normative expectations than in previous periods. Twochanges are particularly noteworthy. First, international organizations needto demonstrate not only what they do for their member states, but also forthe individuals in member states. Second, while international organizationscontinue to be evaluated in terms of what they achieve, they areincreasingly also measured by how they operate. As the case studies reveal,the more pluralist patchwork of legitimacy principles today's internationalorganizations confront has multiple origins. It includes the politicization ofexpanding international authority, but also a range of other driving forcessuch as individual leadership or normative path dependence. Despitevariation in the sources, however, the consequences of the normative shiftare similar. Notably, a longer and more heterogenous list of normativeexpectations renders the legitimation of international organizations morecomplex. Strikingly, then, at a time when many feel internationalcooperation is needed more than ever, legitimating the forms in which suchcooperation takes place has become most difficult. Internationalorganizations have come under pressure.