The Higher Research Seminar: Anders Uhlin, Lund University - “Legitimation and delegitimation of international organizations: ASEAN in comparative perspective”

Legitimation Practices and Legitimacy Beliefs in International Governance: The ASEAN Experience

In a time when the rule-based international order is deeply contested, debates about the legitimacy of international organizations (IOs) occupy a central place in international relations scholarship. Extant research has provided significant insights into citizens’ and elites’ legitimacy beliefs vis-à-vis different IOs, the discursive self-legitimation IOs engage in through various forms of public communication, how other state and non-state actors use social (and traditional) media to legitimize or delegitimize IOs, and how actions such as institutional reforms and street demonstrations may boost or challenge beliefs in the legitimacy of IOs. However, these strands of research are still not sufficiently linked. Through an in-depth case study of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), focusing on the interaction between legitimacy beliefs and (de)legitimation discourses and actions, the book integrates major analytical dimensions that have so far tended to be treated separately. The overarching research question is: How and when is ASEAN legitimized and delegitimized, and how does this relate to legitimacy beliefs about this international organization? The aim is to draw on the ASEAN experience to gain new insights about key mechanisms of legitimation politics in international governance. Drawing on diverse datasets, including survey and social media data, ASEAN is compared to other IOs in terms of legitimacy beliefs and (de)legitimation practices. The innovative theoretical framework is applied in context-sensitive analyses using multiple data sources, including survey data, documents, and qualitative interviews with leading politicians, diplomats, and civil society activists. The book traces how the legitimation politics related to ASEAN have evolved over time since its establishment in 1967. It provides an in-depth analysis of civil society actors as agents and audiences of (de)legitimation and pays particular attention to legitimacy implications of the Myanmar crises and the admission process of Timor-Leste. 

Anders Uhlin - Professor of Political Science 

His research focuses on civil society activism, problems of democratization, and global and regional governance institutions. Uhlin has conducted research on the legitimacy of international organizations, which, among other publications, has resulted in the edited volume  Legitimation and Delegitimation in Global Governance (Oxford University Press, co-edited with Magdalena Bexell and Kristina Jönsson). Another research project concerns civil society elites in Cambodia and Indonesia. Uhlin has also conducted research on civil society elites in a European context within the research program Civil Society Elites? He is currently completing a research monograph on legitimacy challenges facing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Uhlin has been teaching and supervising widely on all levels, for example, within the fields of development studies, international politics, and democratization. In 2011, he was promoted to Excellent Teaching Practitioner (ETP).

The Higher Research Seminar is the main collective seminar of the Department. The research staff and invited national and international leading scholars present ongoing research and analyses of a broad range of exciting topics of relevance for Political Science.

The Higher Research Seminar is held on Wednesdays, 13.15 to 14.30 in Eden 367, unless otherwise indicated. PhD Mid-term seminars 13:15 to 14:45. 

Convenors: Robert Klemmensen and Jonathan Polk

The seminars are open to the public. Welcome to join us!

The Higher Research Seminar | Department of Political Science