Causes and Consequences of Legitimacy in Areas of Limited Statehood
For decades, questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of governance have been prominent in political science. Yet, we still know little about their mutual interplay, particularly in areas of limited statehood i.e. domestic polities where the state lacks the ability to implement and enforce central decisions and/or monopoly over the use of force. Taking areas of limited statehood as the circumstantial backdrop for this panel allows for new theoretical questions and empirical insight regarding the relationship between effectiveness and legitimacy. The panel focuses on state, non-state and external governance actors, and presents an empirically applicable model for theorizing how effectiveness and legitimacy may mutually impact one another. Based on the empirical findings and different perspectives of the contributions, the panel’s common theme is that the interplay between effective and legitimate governance in areas of limited statehood is far more complex than often assumed. Neither is effective governance a guarantee for more legitimacy, nor is higher legitimacy always connected to more effective governance. This calls for new evaluations of the legitimacy-effectiveness nexus for areas of limited statehood, but also carries important policy implications.
Participants
William G. Nomikos, Yale University (Chair)
Sabrina Karim, (Discussant)
Papers:
Governance Effectiveness and Legitimacy: Virtuous or Vicious Circle?
Eric Stollenwerk, Freie Universitaet Berlin (Author)
Cord Schmelzle, (Non-Presenting Co-Author)
Perceptions of Legitimacy
Margaret Levi, Stanford University (Author)
Beyond the Ballot Box:Towards a Legitimacy-Centered Approach To State-Building
David Remmert, Freie Universität Berlin (Author)
Gregor Walter-Drop, Freie Universität Berlin (Non-Presenting Co-Author)
Legitimate Consent? Delegating Sovereignty on Rule of Law Roles in Weak States
Aila M. Matanock, University of California-Berkeley (Author)