Showing papers on "Legitimacy published in 2010"

Anti-reflexivity The American Conservative Movement’s Success in Undermining Climate Science and Policy

Abstract: The American conservative movement is a force of anti-reflexivity insofar as it attacks two key elements of reflexive modernization: the environmental movement and environmental impact science. Learning from its mistakes in overtly attacking environmental regulations in the early 1980s, this countermovement has subsequently exercised a more subtle form of power characterized by non-decision-making. We examine the conservative movement’s efforts to undermine climate science and policy in the USA over the last two decades by using this second dimension of power. The conservative movement has employed four non-decision-making techniques to challenge the legitimacy of climate science and prevent progress in policy-making. We argue that reflexive modernization scholars should focus more attention on similar forces of anti-reflexivity that continue to shape the overall direction of our social, political and economic order, and the life chances of many citizens. Indeed, better understanding of the forces and effectiveness of anti-reflexivity may very well be crucial for societal resilience and adaptation, especially in the face of global environmental problems like climate change.

Procedural Justice, Trust, and Institutional Legitimacy

Abstract: This paper summarizes ‘procedural justice’ approaches to policing, contrasting these to the more politically dominant discourse about policing as crime control. It argues that public trust in policing is needed partly because this may result in public cooperation with justice, but more importantly because public trust in justice builds institutional legitimacy and thus public compliance with the law and commitment to the rule of law. Some recent survey findings are presented in support of this perspective.

Toward a More Coherent Understanding of the Organization–Society Relationship: A Theoretical Consideration for Social and Environmental Accounting Research

Abstract: In this study we analyze the overlapping perspectives of legitimacy theory, institutional theory, resource dependence theory, and stakeholder theory. Our purpose is to explore how these theories can inform and be built upon by one another. Through our analysis we provide a broader theoretical understanding of these theories that may support and promote social and environmental accounting research. This article starts with a detailed analysis of legitimacy theory by bringing some recent critical discussions on legitimacy and corporations in the management literature into accounting research. The notion forwarded by legitimacy theory then serves as an overarching concept to examine the relationship between and among theories. We conclude that two theoretical considerations are important for future social and environmental accounting research. First, it must be acknowledged that some business entities initiate social activities based on direct interactions with stakeholders, whereas others may also undertake similar activities to manage their societal level of legitimacy. Second, from analyzing the perspectives of legitimacy theory, institutional theory, resource dependence theory, and stakeholder theory, it is possible to reach compatible interpretations of business social phenomena, and the selection and application of these theories should depend upon the focus of study.

Who governs the globe

Abstract: 1. Who governs the globe? Deborah D. Avant, Martha Finnemore and Susan K. Sell Part I. Authority Dynamics and New Governors: 2. Who is running the international criminal justice system? Allison Danner and Erik Voeten 3. The International Organization for Standardization as a global governor: a club theory approach Aseem Prakash and Matthew Potoski 4. Corporations in zones of conflict: issues, actors, and institutions Virginia Haufler 5. International organization control under conditions of dual delegation: a transgovernmental politics approach Abraham L. Newman 6. Constructing authority in the European Union Kathleen R. McNamara Part II. Authority Dynamics and Governance Outcomes: 7. Packing heat: pro-gun groups and the governance of small arms Clifford Bob 8. Governing the global agenda: 'gatekeepers' and 'issue adoption' in transnational advocacy networks R. Charli Carpenter 9. Outsourcing authority: how project contracts transform global governance networks Alexander Cooley 10. When 'doing good' does not: the IMF and the Millennium Development Goals Tamar Gutner 11. The power of norms the norms of power: who governs international electric and electronic technology? Tim Buthe 12. 'Education for all' and the global governors Karen Mundy 13. Conclusion: authority, legitimacy, and accountability in global politics Deborah D. Avant, Martha Finnemore and Susan K. Sell.

Corruption and Trust: Theoretical Considerations and Evidence From Mexico

Abstract: The growing empirical literature on political corruption shows trust (interpersonal and political) to be both cause and consequence of corruption: a conclusion that largely builds on studies using ...

Examining Citizen Participation: Local Participatory Policy Making and Democracy

Abstract: Citizen participation is usually seen as a vital aspect of democracy. Many theorists claim that citizen participation has positive effects on the quality of democracy. This article examines the probability of these claims for local participatory policymaking projects in two municipalities in the Netherlands. The article focuses on the relations between citizens and government from a citizens' perspective. The findings show that the role of citizens in these projects is limited, serving mainly to provide information on the basis of which the government then makes decisions. Nevertheless, the article argues that citizen involvement has a number of positive effects on democracy: not only do people consequently feel more responsibility for public matters, it increases public engagement, encourages people to listen to a diversity of opinions, and contributes to a higher degree of legitimacy of decisions. One negative effect is that not all relevant groups and interests are represented. The article con...

Negotiating Statehood: Dynamics of Power and Domination in Africa

Abstract: This article, which forms the introduction to a collection of studies, focuses on processes of state construction and deconstruction in contemporary Africa.Its objective is to better understand how local, national and transnational actors forge and remake the state through processes of negotiation, contestation and bricolage. Following a critique of the predominant state failure literature and its normative and analytical shortcomings, the authors identify four key arguments of the scholarly literature on the state in Africa, which concern the historicity of the state in Africa, the embeddedness of bureaucratic organizations in society, the symbolic and material dimensions of statehood and the importance of legitimacy. A heuristic framework entitled ‘negotiatingstatehood’ is proposed, referring to the dynamic and partly undetermined processes of state formation and failure by a multitude of social actors whocompete over the institutionalization of power relations. The article then operationalizes this framework in three sections that partly conceptualize, partly illustrate who negotiates statehood in contemporary Africa (actors, resources and repertoires); where these negotiation processes occur (negotiation arenas and tables); and what these processes are all about (objects of negotiation). Empirical examples drawn from a variety of political contexts across the African continent illustrate these propositions.

Legitimacy and Deterrence Effects in Counterterrorism Policing: A Study of Muslim Americans

Abstract: This study considers the circumstances under which members of the Muslim American community voluntarily cooperate with police efforts to combat terrorism. Cooperation is defined to include both a general receptivity toward helping the police in antiterror work and the specific willingness to alert police to terror-related risks in a community. We compare two perspectives on why people cooperate with law enforcement, both developed with reference to general policing, in the context of antiterror policing and specifically among members of the Muslim American community. The first is instrumental. It suggests that people cooperate because they see tangible benefits that outweigh any costs. The second perspective is normative. It posits that people respond to their belief that police are a legitimate authority. On this view we link legitimacy to the fairness and procedural justice of police behavior. Data from a study involving interviews with Muslim Americans in New York City between March and June 2009 strongly support the normative model by finding that the procedural justice of police activities is the primary factor shaping legitimacy and cooperation with the police.

The making of a European public sphere: media discourse and political contention

Abstract: This book investigates an important source of the European Union’s recent legitimacy problems. It shows how European integration is debated in mass media, and how this affects democratic inclusiveness. Advancing integration implies a shift in power between governments, parliaments, and civil society. Behind debates over Europe’s "democratic deficit" is a deeper concern: whether democratic politics can perform effectively under conditions of Europeanization and globalization. This study is based on a wealth of unique data from seven European countries, combining newspaper content analyses, an innovative study of Internet communication structures, and hundreds of interviews with leading political and media representatives across Europe. It is by far the most far-reaching and empirically grounded study on the Europeanization of media discourse and political contention to date, and a must-read for anyone interested in how European integration changes democratic politics and why European integration has become increasingly contested.

Politics and Administration: A Study in Government

Abstract: The conventional model for explaining the uniqueness of American democracy is its division between executive, legislative, and judicial functions It was the great contribution of Frank J Goodnow to codify a less obvious, but no less profound element: the distinction between politics and policies, principles and operations He showed how the United States went beyond a nation based on government by gentlemen and then one based on the spoils system brought about by the Jacksonian revolt against the Eastern Establishment, into a government that separated political officials from civil administratorsGoodnow contends that the civil service reformers persuasively argued that the separation of administration from politics, far from destroying the democratic links with the people, actually served to enhance democracy While John Rohr, in his outstanding new introduction carefully notes loopholes in the theoretical scaffold of Goodnow's argument, he is also careful to express his appreciation of the pragmatic ground for this new sense of government as needing a partnership of the elected and the appointedGoodnow was profoundly influenced by European currents, especially the Hegelian As a result, the work aims at a political philosophy meant to move considerably beyond the purely pragmatic needs of government For it was the relationships, the need for national unity in a country that was devised to account for and accommodate pluralism and diversity, that attracted Goodnow's legal background and normative impulses alike That issues of legitimacy and power distribution were never entirely resolved by Goodnow does not alter the fact that this is perhaps the most important work, along with that of James Bryce, to emerge from this formative period to connect processes of governance with systems of democracy

The Dangers of Decoupling: The Relationship between Compliance Programs, Legitimacy Perceptions, and Institutionalized Misconduct

Abstract: This theory-building analysis spotlights a dynamic that occurs between decoupling, legitimacy, and institutionalized misconduct. Using data gathered from a case study of widespread deceptive sales practices at a large financial services firm, we demonstrate the dangers of decoupling an organizational compliance program from the core business activities of an organization. We illustrate how decoupling created a “legitimacy facade” that enabled the institutionalization of misconduct and precipitated a loss of external legitimacy.

Media and Political Engagement: Citizens, Communication, and Democracy

Abstract: * Media and Political Engagement: Citizens, Communication, and Democracy. Peter Dahlgren. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. 246 pp. $24.99 pbk. This book is more appropriate for graduate courses or seminars, but the content is relevant to any instructor or student who cares about the connections among the media, governments, political organizations, and the public. In the opinion of this reviewer, it is required reading. Peter Dahlgren correctly asserts that "[w]ithout a minimal level of involvement from its citizens, democracy loses legitimacy and may cease to function in a legitimate way." Flagging citizen interest is not the sole factor in charting democracy's decline, of course; Dahlgren adds that media must disseminate information important to the health of any democratic nation. When they skirt that responsibility in favor of "infotainment" or other second-rate presentations of political programming, they opt out of their commitment. "We are awash in media," observes Dahlgren, a media studies professor at Lund University in Sweden, "and most of it is obviously not overtly civicoriented." But Dahlgren also reminds us that society shouldn't expect the media to be the only mechanism for information about government and political agencies. The public needs to be engaged in formal and informal organizations that lead to increased attention to and knowledge of politics. There is one note of caution - opinion leaders typically generate the conversations necessary for an informed public through information they acquire from the media, creating in some cases an echo chamber that advances public discourse little. In his chapter 2, titled "Media Alterations," Dahlgren provides a complex, thorough review of the rise of corporate media and how governmental indifference to it - especially in the United States - allowed media organizations to push aside public-interest programming. One of the effects of this transformation to pop-culture content is that politicians now use the media to advance their policy stances but also to "market their personalities." Ironically, traditional media are falling out of favor as citizens use many delivery platforms for gathering information. (Of course, with the Internet, they also are able to distribute their own information, however inaccurate, opinionated, or inflammatory it might be.) At the same time, they attend to media that offer affirmation of their previously held beliefs. The public also can tune out, and Dahlgren warns this is the most toxic form of disengagement from the political process. One element of this book that instructors could spend considerable time discussing with students is Dahlgren's definitions of civic engagement and political engagement. He doesn't adequately connect these terms to the media, and this incomplete assessment provides another area for classroom conversation. …

Struggles Over Legitimacy in Global Organizational Restructuring: A Rhetorical Perspective on Legitimation Strategies and Dynamics in a Shutdown Case

Abstract: Critical organization scholars have focused increasing attention on industrial and organizational restructurings such as shutdown decisions. However, little is known about the rhetorical strategies used to legitimate or resist plant closures in organizational negotiations. In this article, we draw from New Rhetoric to analyze rhetorical struggles, strategies and dynamics in unfolding organizational negotiations. We focus on the shutdown of the bus body unit of the Sweden-based Volvo Bus Corporation in Finland. We distinguish five types of rhetorical legitimation strategies and dynamics. These include the three classical dynamics of logos (rational arguments), pathos (emotional moral arguments), and ethos (authority-based arguments), but also autopoiesis (autopoietic narratives), and cosmos (cosmological constructions). Our analysis contributes to previous studies on organizational restructuring by providing a more nuanced understanding of how contemporary industrial closures are legitimated and resisted in organizational negotiations. This study also increases theoretical understanding of the role of rhetoric in legitimation more generally.

Globalization and the Growth of International Educational Testing and National Assessment

Abstract: Education has long been characterized as a central requirement for national economic development and political democratization in the contemporary world. Moreover, international benchmarking has been identified as the “basis for improvement. . . . It is only through such benchmarking that countries can understand relative strengths and weaknesses of their education systems and identify best practices and ways forward” (OECD 2006, 18). Statements such as this example signal an international consensus that has emerged— at least among “developed” countries—about the legitimacy and, even more so, the necessity of international testing and national assessment. As David P. Baker and Gerald K. LeTendre (2005) observe, both international testing and national assessment are linked to efforts to reform educational systems and are often themselves stimuli for further cycles of reform. The results of international testing, they note, will fuel further interest in national assessment. Here we develop an argument about the global forces that have led to the explosive growth of national educational assessment and international testing. In particular, we argue that the international acceptance of testing comes from key ideological forces in the world polity that are associated with the accelerating globalization of national and international cultural, economic, and political structures. As we develop and warrant this argument, we also qualify it by pointing out that national adaptations to this larger world culture may vary depending on the presence and capacities of international organizations and regional associations that act to mediate and adapt these changes to conditions in individual countries. In addition, we consider the effects of subnational movements in introducing pressures for change that may favor more national assessment.

Markets, Morals, and Practices of Trade: Jurisdictional Disputes in the U.S. Commerce in Cadavers:

Abstract: This study examines the U.S. commerce in human cadavers for medical education and research to explore variation in legitimacy in trades involving similar goods. It draws on archival, interview, and observational data mainly from NewYork State to analyze market participants' efforts to legitimize commerce and resolve a jurisdictional dispute. Building on literature on professions, the study shows that how goods are traded, not only what is traded, proves integral to constructing legitimacy, thus suggesting a practice-based view of moral markets. The professionals, including a group of “gatekeepers,” construct a narrative distinction between their own commerce and an implicitly less moral alternative and geographically insulate their trades from the broader commerce, creating in effect two circuits. Yet the professionals also promote specific practices of trade within their circuit to help them distinguish their own pursuit from an alternative course of action. The study's findings shed light on the micro-f...

Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union Revisited

Abstract: Whether their analytic frameworks focus on institutional form and practices or on its interactive construction, scholars have analyzed the EU’s democratic legitimacy mainly in terms of the trade-offs between the output effectiveness of EU’s policies outcomes for the people and the input participation by and representation of the people. Missing is theorization of the “throughput” efficiency, accountability, transparency, and openness to consultation with the people of the EU’s internal governance processes. The paper argues that adding this analytic category facilitates assessment of these legitimizing mechanisms’ interdependencies and facilitates consideration of reforms that could turn this democratic trilemma into a “virtuous circle”.

Canada's Indigenous Constitution

Abstract: Canada's Indigenous Constitution reflects on the nature and sources of law in Canada, beginning with the conviction that the Canadian legal system has helped to engender the high level of wealth and security enjoyed by people across the country. However, longstanding disputes about the origins, legitimacy, and applicability of certain aspects of the legal system have led John Borrows to argue that Canada's constitution is incomplete without a broader acceptance of Indigenous legal traditions. With characteristic richness and eloquence, John Borrows explores legal traditions, the role of governments and courts, and the prospect of a multi-juridical legal culture, all with a view to understanding and improving legal processes in Canada. He discusses the place of individuals, families, and communities in recovering and extending the role of Indigenous law within both Indigenous communities and Canadian society more broadly. This is a major work by one of Canada's leading legal scholars, and an essential companion to Drawing Out Law: A Spirit's Guide.

Contemporary states of emergency : the politics of military and humanitarian interventions

Abstract: From natural disaster areas to zones of political conflict around the world, a new logic of intervention combines military action and humanitarian aid, conflates moral imperatives and political arguments, and confuses the concepts of legitimacy and legality. The mandate to protect human lives -- however and wherever endangered -- has given rise to a new form of humanitarian government that moves from one crisis to the next, applying the same battery of technical expertise (from military logistics to epidemiological risk management to the latest social scientific tools for "good governance") and reducing people with particular histories and hopes to mere lives to be rescued. This book explores these contemporary states of emergency. Drawing on the critical insights of anthropologists, legal scholars, political scientists, and practitioners from the field, Contemporary States of Emergency examines historical antecedents as well as the moral, juridical, ideological, and economic conditions that have made military and humanitarian interventions common today. It addresses the practical process of intervention in global situations on five continents, describing both differences and similarities, and examines the moral and political consequences of these generalized states of emergency and the new form of government associated with them.

Realism, liberal moralism and a political theory of modus vivendi

Abstract: This article sets out some of the key features of a realist critique of liberal moralism, identifying descriptive inadequacy and normative irrelevance as the two fundamental lines of criticism. It then sketches an outline of a political theory of modus vivendi as an alternative, realist approach to political theory. On this account a modus vivendi should be understood as any political settlement that involves the preservation of peace and security and is generally acceptable to those who are party to it. In conclusion, some problems with this conception of modus vivendi and with a realist political theory more generally are discussed. In particular, the question is raised of whether a realist political theory should be understood as an alternative to liberal moralism or only a better way of doing basically the same kind of thing.

A Bretton Woods moment? The 2007–2008 crisis and the future of global finance

Abstract: The 2007–2008 global financial crisis encouraged speculation about the prospects for a ‘Bretton Woods moment’ in which the global financial system would be radically redesigned Many of those hoping for this outcome have since become disillusioned with the limited nature of the international financial reform agenda But the success and innovation of the Bretton Woods conference was made possible by unique political conditions that are not present today, notably concentrated power in the state system; a transnational expert consensus; and wartime conditions Moreover, a close reading of history reveals that the Bretton Woods system did not emerge from a single moment but rather from a much more extended historical process If a new international financial system is being born today, it will be a slower and more incremental development process that can be divided into four phases: a legitimacy crisis; an interregnum; a constitutive phase; and an implementation phase Viewed from this perspective, post-crisis developments look more significant The crisis of 2007–2008 has already intensified twin legitimacy crises relating to international financial policy and leadership It has also generated an international reform initiative that has been unusual for its speed and internationally coordinated nature Many of the details of this reform initiative remain unresolved and its content and breadth are hotly contested in various ways We thus find ourselves in more of an interregnum than a constitutive phase It remains unclear how quickly, if at all, the latter might emerge and in what form

Judicial Power and Strategic Communication in Mexico

Abstract: Part I. Judicial Communication and Judicial Power: 1. Introduction 2. A model of constitutional review and case promotion Appendix 2 Part II. The Politics of Constitutional Review in Mexico: 3. Public relations on the Mexican Supreme Court 4. Decisions, case promotion, and compliance in Mexico Appendix 4A Appendix 4B Part III. Relationships between Transparency and Legitimacy: 5. Constitutional review and the development of judicial legitimacy Appendix 5 6. A cross-national analysis of judicial legitimacy 7. Democracy and the development of judicial power.

Florence Nightingale Endures: Legitimizing a New Professional Role Identity

Abstract: We examined the discursive processes through which a new professional role identity for registered nurses was legitimized by analysing introductory textbooks over time. We theorize five ways of rhetorically legitimizing a new professional role identity: naturalizing the past, normalizing new meanings, altering identity referents, connecting with the institutional environment, and referencing authority. In contrast to previous research focused on legitimizing new practices, we contribute to the institutional literature by showing that legitimizing a professional role identity requires the incremental development of new arguments where the past is not delegitimized. Our findings also indicate that instead of a progression from moral and pragmatic legitimacy to cognitive legitimacy, legitimizing a new role identity may focus only on moral legitimacy. Finally, our study highlights the importance of interactions between the professional task environment and the wider institutional environment as part of the process of legitimizing a professional role identity.

Civil society and EU democracy: ‘astroturf’ representation?

Abstract: The growing uneasiness about the democratic deficit of the European Union (EU) has incited politicians and academics alike to look for remedies other than institutional reforms and giving more powers to the European Parliament. Strategies of ‘good governance’ shifted centre stage and the governance turn initiated a lively discourse on the democratic credentials of involving civil society. This article presents the changing views on the role of civil society in EU discourse. Al though the Commission and even the Constitutional Convention put high hopes on the legitimacy input of civil society, a representation discourse is conspicuously absent. The article introduces an analytical framework to assess the contributions and limitations of civil society to democratic representation in EU governance.

Reclaiming Legitimacy in China

Abstract: Portland State University The contemporary politics of China reflect an ongoing effort by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to reclaim the right to rule in light of the consequences of economic development, international pressures, and historical change China’s regime stands out within the Asian region for its success in the effort of adapting to change and ensuring its continuity Focusing on changes in China’s elite discourse during the reform period and particularly during the last decade, the aim of this article is to elaborate the relative importance of various sources of legitimacy as they are shifting over time, as well as inherent dilemmas and limitations There is evidence of an agile, responsive, and creative party effort to relegitimate the postrevolutionary regime through economic performance, nationalism, ideology, culture, governance, and democracy At the same time, the study finds a clear shift in emphasis from an earlier economic-nationalistic approach to a more ideologicalinstitutional approach

Legitimacy, Strategy, and Resources in the Survival of Community-Based Organizations

Abstract: Organizations active in mobilizing low- and moderate-income communities make considerable efforts to combat inequalities and build voice for citizens, despite inherent challenges of obtaining resources, maintaining member interest, and retaining staff. How, then, do such groups remain viable—even thriving—organizations? Building upon research on organizational theory and social movements, we examine patterns of survival among a sample of community-based organizations (CBOs) between 1990 and 2004, thus providing the first systematic study of their long-term mortality processes. More specifically, we test how organizations' sociopolitical legitimacy and resources (and strategies for cultivating both) influence survival, finding that the legitimacy of organizations in low-income areas is a double-edged sword, as embeddedness in resource-deprived local environments confers both benefits and disadvantages. In particular, we find the strongest support for the notion that, beyond the considerable effects of externally obtained resources, CBOs also benefit considerably by engaging in even a small amount of grassroots fundraising. Further, although we find significant effects of extra-local legitimacy in the baseline models—through organizations' affiliation with national or regional organizing networks—we find evidence in additional analyses that the survival benefits of network affiliation are largely mediated by resources. We also find sizable but marginally significant effects of local legitimacy, and significant positive effects of organizational age and urban location. Overall, our findings suggest that although cultivating resources is the surest path to survival, organizations that build their legitimacy will be in a better position to compensate for structural resource deficits.

The Causes and Consequences of Private Food Governance

Abstract: This paper investigates the creation and consequences of private regulation in global food governance. It points to the power to govern and the authority to govern as the two crucial conditions for the emergence and diffusion of private food regulation. More specifically, the paper argues that the power to govern is a function of the structural power of agrifood corporations, particularly retail food corporations in our case. The authority to govern is a function of the perceived legitimacy of retail food corporations as political actors. By linking power and authority to the material and ideational structures existing in the global political economy of food, this paper analyses the processes that serve to create, maintain and reproduce private regulation in food governance. With its analysis, the paper aims to contribute to the theoretical and empirical debates on private authority, private regulation and the challenges for sustainability in the global food system.

Anti-Politics as Political Strategy: Neoliberalism and Transfrontier Conservation in Southern Africa

Abstract: Studies on conservation and development often point out that interventions rely on anti-political manoeuvring to acquire legitimacy and support. Recent ‘aidnography’, in particular, has done much to expand and add nuance to our understanding of the complex, micro- (anti-)politics at work in conservation and development interventions. In doing this, however, aidnography seems to have led the focus away from two crucial, broader issues related to conservation and development interventions: how they are regulated through the wider, neoliberal political economy, and how this fuels and obscures (global) inequality. Drawing on empirical research on a transfrontier conservation and development intervention in Southern Africa, this article argues that the differential workings of anti-politics in practice warrant a renewed appreciation and a more explicit political operationalization of the concept. This is done by re-emphasizing anti-politics as an essential political strategy within conservation and development interventions and as an intrinsic element of the wider political economy of neoliberalism.

Identities as Lenses: How Organizational Identity Affects Audiences' Evaluation of Organizational Performance

Abstract: This study calls into question the completeness of the argument that economic actors who fail to conform to certain identity-based logics — such as the categorical structure of markets — garner less attention and perform poorly, beginning with the observation that some nonconforming actors seem to elicit considerable attention and thrive. By reconceptualizing organizational identity as not just a signal of organizational legitimacy but also a lens used by evaluating audiences to make sense of emerging information, I explore the micro, decision-making foundations on which both conformist and nonconformist organizations may come to be favored. Analyzing the association between organizational conformity and return on investment and capital flows in the global hedge fund industry, 1994–2008, I find that investors allocate capital more readily to nonconforming hedge funds following periods of short-term positive performance. Contrary to prediction, nonconforming funds are also less severely penalized for recent poor performance. Both "amplification" and "buffering" effects persist for funds with nonconformist identities despite steady-state normative pressure toward conformity. I explore the asymmetry of this outcome, and what it means for theories related to organizational identity and legitimacy, in the discussion section.

The Justification of Human Rights and the Basic Right to Justification. A Reflexive Approach

Abstract: Human Rights are a complex phenomenon, comprising an array of different aspects. They have a moral life, expressing urgent human concerns and claims that must not be violated or ignored; they also have a legal life, being enshrined in national constitutions and in international declarations; and they have a political life, expressing standards of basic political legitimacy. For a comprehensive philosophical account of human rights, all of these aspects are essential and need to be integrated. Yet when doing so one must not overlook the central social-political aspect of human rights, namely that when and where they have been claimed, it has been because the individuals concerned suffered from and protested against forms of oppression and/or exploitation that they believed disregarded their dignity as human beings. Human rights are first and foremost weapons in combating certain evils that human beings inflict upon one another; they emphasize standards of treatment that no human being could justifiably deny to others. My thesis in what follows is that if this is correct, it implies – reflexively speaking – that one claim underlies all human rights, namely human beings’ claim to be respected as agents who have the right not to be subjected to certain actions or institutional norms that cannot be adequately justified to them. In other words, human rights have a common ground in one basic moral right, the right to justification.