Legitimacy

About: Legitimacy is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 26153 publications have been published within this topic receiving 565921 citations.

The Color of Crime

Abstract: justice. The legal evolution from the slave codes to the Black codes to Jim Crow legislation, establish a clear link to the operation of today's criminal justice system. This chapter concludes with a list of six principles that are minimally required for a racially-fair criminal justice system. Perhaps most problematic in the current system, is the question of whether their are adequate checks and balances that mitigate against racial bias in the legal system. "Racial Discr imina tion or Disproport iona te Offending?" (Chapter 3) offers a detailed critique of how mainstream criminologists measure discrimination. The problems of beginning a discrimination analysis with the formal stages of the justice system (e.g., arrest), as well as the problems of generalizing from single and multi-stage discrimination studies are discussed. Racial discrimination is not limited to the formal stages. The phenomenon of "DWB" (Driving While Black) is perhaps the best counterpoint to mainstream analysis. Police stops which do not result in arrest do not trigger the formal stage, therefore, fall outside typical measures of racial discrimination. The perception that many Blacks have, particularly Black men, that they are targeted by the police is not a lightweight matter. The perception and reality of disproportionate minority targeting has everything to do with how minorities view the justice system and its legitimacy. For good or ill, a book which purports to be about race and crime would not be complete without some discussion of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. In Chapter 4, "Are we Still Talking About O.J.?," the focus is upon the criminal trial as a Rorschach test rather than an isolated, rare event. Although we were bombarded, ad nauseam, with the criminal trial, very little of the data and analysis were new. Much of media discussion was an outgrowth of the early polls, which showed that there was a deep Black/White racial divide in the case. This chapter is a critique of both the media presentations of all-things O.J., and what the media failed to present about the case. The common portrayal was that Blacks were on one side of the fence, shouting down an equal number of Whites on the other side. Very little of the media images showed that there were more Whites --in actual numbers--who believed in Simpson's innocence, than there were Blacks. There were so many unanswered questions, including, were perceptions about Simpson's guilt partly attributable to one's class status? Too few polls reported data on the intersection of class and race. Further, why were so many Blacks so quick to jump to O.J. Simpson's defense? This chapter attempts to reconcile how Simpson, viewed by himself and others as "colorless," became a symbol of racism in the criminal justice system. How did this

The Political Paradox of Finance Capitalism: Interests, Preferences, and Center-Left Party Politics in Corporate Governance Reform

Abstract: A striking paradox underlies corporate governance reform during the past fifteen years: center-left political parties have pushed for pro-shareholder corporate governance reforms, while the historically pro-business right has generally resisted them to protect established forms of organized capitalism, concentrated corporate stock ownership, and managerialism. Case studies of Germany, France, Italy, and the United States reveal that center-left parties used corporate governance reform to attack the legitimacy of existing political economic elites, present themselves as pro-growth and pro-modernization, strike political alliances with segments of the financial sector, and appeal to middle-class voters. Conservative parties’ established alliances with managers constrained them from endorsing corporate governance reform.

Religion as an Overlooked Element of International Relations

Abstract: Religion is among the most overlooked factors in the study of international politics. Some reasons for this include a bias against the study of religion that dates to the origins of the social sciences, the influence on social scientists of classical liberal ideas that stress the separation of church and state, and the fact that religion is difficult to quantify. Nevertheless, the essay holds that religion influences international politics in three ways: 1) religion influences the worldviews of many decisionmakers and their constituents and shapes the environment in which decisionmakers act; 2) religion is a source of legitimacy for political decisions and actions; 3) religion is an issue that crosses borders in many ways, including domestic conflicts with international implications. Equally significant are international religious movements, like fundamentalist movements and political Islam, and the foreign policies of theocratic states and other governments, which are guided by religious ideologies. Attention focuses on the international movement for the support of religious rights in the context of the world’s growing interdependence. This underscores the importance of religion in the study of international politics.

NGOs’ transnational advocacy networks: from ‘legitimacy’ to ‘political responsibility’?

Abstract: NGOs that operate as part of transnational advocacy networks face a number of ‘legitimacy challenges’ concerning their rights to participate in the shaping of global governance. Outlining the legitimacy claims that development NGOs make, the article argues that ‘legitimacy’ is a socially constructed quality that may be ascribed to an NGO by actors and stakeholders with different viewpoints. NGOs operating transnationally link disparate communities and conceptions of legitimacy, and undermine the discourse and practice of sovereignty. Therefore such NGOs will find it difficult to be universally regarded as legitimate, especially by states that hold a sovereignty-based conception of legitimacy. However, relationships are the building blocks of networks, and efforts to improve them should not be abandoned simply because ‘legitimacy’ is too closely connected with sovereignty. In particular, NGOs ought to improve their relationships with the poor and marginalized communities whose interests they claim to promote. To this end, the concept of ‘political responsibility’ is suggested as a pragmatic approach to understanding power relations as they arise in transnational advocacy networks and campaigns.