Project Details
Projekt
Legitimate Multipolarity
Subject Area
Political Science
Term
from 2018 to 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 394229330
Global governance institutions work differently under conditions of multipolarity. According to some, the rise of new powers has contributed to a wider legitimacy crisis of global governance institutions plagued by gridlocks, poor performance, and inadequate representativeness. On the other hand, rising powers capacity to contest established powers agendas prima facie increases the legitimacy or fairness of global governance institutions by way of reducing power asymmetries between North and South. In a first step, Legitimate Multipolarity investigates the legitimacy deficits of global governance under conditions of multipolarity by way of three case studies of individual global governance institutions (WTO, G20, AIIB), which together comprise key elements of our understanding of multipolarity. Legitimate Multipolarity adopts an empirical, not normative, approach to the study of legitimacy. From that perspective, legitimacy deficits of global governance institutions arise from members doubts about the rightful sources of authority, poor performance, and articulations of dissent. In a second step, the project examines potential solutions to legitimacy problems put forward from within the two most prominent rising powers, China and India. It does so by systematically analysing ideas expressed in foreign policies, official statements, or emanating from public discourses within China and India. Here, we consider both ideational resources for improving the legitimacy of global governance institutions under conditions of multipolarity and discourses aimed at legitimating the authority of rising powers vis-à-vis other states.The project establishes two major datasets of political communication (one per work package), complemented by qualitative interviews with experts and representatives of the foreign policy communities in China and India. The projects third component seeks to infuse key findings into the German policy sphere by way of cooperating with the Federal Foreign Office.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
International Connection
China, India
Cooperation Partners
PK Gautam; Dr. Yaqing Qin
