Research project Geographies of discontent

Individuals worldwide are divided over the legitimacy of international organizations, such as the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Legitimacy is the judgment that political authority is proper and appropriately exercised. Being legitimate is important to the success of international organizations since it facilitates securing the support, resources, and compliance necessary to solve critical transboundary challenges. This project examines the sources of individual legitimacy perceptions of international organizations by focusing on a surprisingly understudied factor: regional inequalities. 

Inequalities between subnational regions have been shown to make anti-system voting more likely in socioeconomically ‘left behind’ places. This project argues that regional inequalities may also affect citizens' deep-seated legitimacy beliefs towards international organizations. Empirically, the project examines novel subnational-level data from 60 countries over 32 years on legitimacy beliefs, socioeconomic factors, and external shocks. The project also conducts survey experiments to study regional inequality effects on legitimacy at the individual level.