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Sommerer, Thomas
Publications (10 of 23) Show all publications
Agné, H. & Sommerer, T. (2024). Legitimacy in international organization: Concepts, findings and explanations (2ed.). In: Bob Reinalda; Marieke Louis (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of International Organization: . Paper presented at (2024) “Legitimacy in international organization: Concepts, findings and explanations.” In Bob Reinalda Marieke Louis (eds.), Routledge Handbook of International Organization, 2nd Edition. London: Routledge, pp. 299-317 (With Thomas Sommerer) (pp. 630-642). Paper presented at (2024) “Legitimacy in international organization: Concepts, findings and explanations.” In Bob Reinalda Marieke Louis (eds.), Routledge Handbook of International Organization, 2nd Edition. London: Routledge, pp. 299-317 (With Thomas Sommerer). Abingdon: Routledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Legitimacy in international organization: Concepts, findings and explanations
2024 (English)In: Routledge Handbook of International Organization / [ed] Bob Reinalda; Marieke Louis, Abingdon: Routledge, 2024, 2, p. 630-642Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Research on legitimacy in international organization (IO) has developed fast in recent years. This chapter surveys the proliferating and partially incommensurable normative and empirical scholarship in this field. It reveals conflicting interests among scholars who approach legitimacy with different conceptualizations and methodologies and explores the potential for learning and convergence across perspectives. This chapter also provides an overview of empirical findings, including case studies on political behaviour, survey research on citizen attitudes, and research on public communication and mass protests. It identifies patterns of legitimacy over time and across organizations that do not support the popular claim of a systemic crisis. The authors synthesize insights on drivers of IO legitimacy, from the process- and performance-related features to strategic interventions by political entrepreneurs and social movements which legitimate or de-legitimate IOs. This chapter concludes with the observation that in times of growing contestation of multilateralism, existing levels of legitimacy will make it more and more difficult for an IO to reach ambitious goals.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Abingdon: Routledge, 2024 Edition: 2
National Category
Political Science (Excluding Peace and Conflict Studies)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-238707 (URN)10.4324/9781003428138-51 (DOI)2-s2.0-85208901163 (Scopus ID)9781032540696 (ISBN)9781032549279 (ISBN)9781003428138 (ISBN)
Conference
(2024) “Legitimacy in international organization: Concepts, findings and explanations.” In Bob Reinalda Marieke Louis (eds.), Routledge Handbook of International Organization, 2nd Edition. London: Routledge, pp. 299-317 (With Thomas Sommerer)
Available from: 2025-01-29 Created: 2025-01-29 Last updated: 2025-07-04Bibliographically approved
Koliev, F., Sommerer, T. & Tallberg, J. (2021). Compliance without coercion: Effects of reporting on international labor rights. Journal of Peace Research, 58(3), 494-509
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Compliance without coercion: Effects of reporting on international labor rights
2021 (English)In: Journal of Peace Research, ISSN 0022-3433, E-ISSN 1460-3578, Vol. 58, no 3, p. 494-509Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

While a dominant position in research on compliance holds that enforcement is necessary for states to abide by their international commitments, many international organizations (IOs) do not have recourse to such coercive means. This article offers the first systematic analysis of one prominent alternative to material coercion: compliance reporting by IOs. It develops an argument for why reporting by IOs should lead states to correct non-compliant behavior, and when those effects should be particularly strong. It tests this argument in the context of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which offers a unique setting for evaluating the impact of reporting in the absence of coercion. The principal findings are threefold. First, reporting has significant and durable effects on state respect for labor rights. Second, reporting affects compliance both immediately and when repeated over longer periods of time. Third, reporting has stronger effects on improvements in labor rights when target states are democratic and resourceful, and have a stronger presence of labor NGOs. By contrast, it does not matter to reporting's effect whether states are highly economically dependent on the outside world or whether reporting is coupled with active shaming of non-compliant states. Taken together, our results suggest that existing research has not fully appreciated the potential of monitoring systems based on reporting to generate compliance with international rules. While hard enforcement may still be important, especially in areas where incentives to renege are strong, the findings of this article suggest that it is not the exclusive path to compliance.

Keywords
compliance, human rights, international cooperation, international labour organization, international organizations, labor rights
National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-183658 (URN)10.1177/0022343320910254 (DOI)000539674600001 ()
Available from: 2020-07-27 Created: 2020-07-27 Last updated: 2022-02-26Bibliographically approved
Agné, H., Sommerer, T. & Angeler, D. G. (2020). Introducing the Sounds of Data to the Study of Politics: A Choir of Global Legitimacy Crises. New Political Science, 42(3), 272-288
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Introducing the Sounds of Data to the Study of Politics: A Choir of Global Legitimacy Crises
2020 (English)In: New Political Science, ISSN 0739-3148, E-ISSN 1469-9931, Vol. 42, no 3, p. 272-288Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article introduces an innovative method to describe data with sounds in political science. The method, known in ecology, physics, and musicology as sonification, operates by linking sound signals to quantifiable observations. We us it to compose a choir of legitimacy crises in global governance from 1994 to 2014, and to negotiate a familiar divide in research on how legitimacy should be measured. Scholars predominantly prefer one of two approaches to measure legitimacy quantitatively, either looking at political trust or public contestation of political institutions. We illustrate the usefulness of sonification to subsume both positions in this divide. More generally, we argue that sonification can enhance public communication of scientific results and extract meanings from observations that go unnoticed in visual and verbal representations, in particular with relevance to describing time series data on anything from the spread of pandemics to violent conflicts and economic inequalities.

National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-186424 (URN)10.1080/07393148.2020.1809760 (DOI)000568333500001 ()
Available from: 2020-11-04 Created: 2020-11-04 Last updated: 2022-02-25Bibliographically approved
Tallberg, J., Lundgren, M., Sommerer, T. & Squatrito, T. (2020). Why International Organizations Commit to Liberal Norms. International Studies Quarterly, 64(3), 626-640
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Why International Organizations Commit to Liberal Norms
2020 (English)In: International Studies Quarterly, ISSN 0020-8833, E-ISSN 1468-2478, Vol. 64, no 3, p. 626-640Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Recent decades have witnessed the emergence and spread of a broad range of liberal norms in global governance, among them sustainable development, gender equality, and human security. While existing scholarship tells us a lot about the trajectories of particular norms, we know much less about the broader patterns and sources of commitments to liberal norms by international organizations (IOs). This article offers the first comparative large-N analysis of such commitments, building on a unique dataset on JO policy decisions over the time period 1980-2015. Distinguishing between deep norm commitment and shallow norm recognition, the analysis produces several novel findings. We establish that IOs' deeper commitments to liberal norms primarily are driven by internal conditions: democratic memberships and institutional designs more conducive to norm entrepreneurship. In contrast, legitimacy standards in the external environment of IOs, often invoked in existing research, mainly account for shallower recognition or talk of norms.

National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-187899 (URN)10.1093/isq/sqaa046 (DOI)000584499800012 ()
Available from: 2020-12-17 Created: 2020-12-17 Last updated: 2022-02-25Bibliographically approved
Sommerer, T. & Tallberg, J. (2019). Diffusion across International Organizations: Connectivity and Convergence. International Organization, 73(2), 399-433
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Diffusion across International Organizations: Connectivity and Convergence
2019 (English)In: International Organization, ISSN 0020-8183, E-ISSN 1531-5088, Vol. 73, no 2, p. 399-433Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

While extensive research shows that policies and institutions spread across states through processes of diffusion, we know little about diffusion among international organizations (IOs). This article advances the state of the field by developing a novel approach for the study ofdiffusion among IOs. This approach consists of three components: a theoretical focus onconnectivity among IOs as pathways for diffusion; a conceptual differentiation between alternative types of convergence effects; and a methodological strategy combining dyadic and spatial analysis of diffusion. The article illustrates the usefulness of this approach through an empirical case: the diffusion of participatory governance arrangements among IOs, 1970-2010. The analysis shows that connectivity among IOs contributes to convergence, which typically is manifested through imitation of very specific institutional models. The article has implications both for the study of IOs and for the general study of diffusion.

Keywords
international organizations, diffusion, institutional design, global governance, interdependence, connectivity, convergence
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-158815 (URN)10.1017/S0020818318000450 (DOI)000466759400005 ()
Available from: 2018-08-15 Created: 2018-08-15 Last updated: 2022-02-26Bibliographically approved
Bes, B. J., Sommerer, T. & Agné, H. (2019). On Legitimacy Crises and the Resources of Global Governance Institutions: A Surprisingly Weak Relationship?. Global Policy, 10(3), 313-326
Open this publication in new window or tab >>On Legitimacy Crises and the Resources of Global Governance Institutions: A Surprisingly Weak Relationship?
2019 (English)In: Global Policy, ISSN 1758-5880, E-ISSN 1758-5899, Vol. 10, no 3, p. 313-326Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

While scholars commonly assume that Global Governance Institutions (GGIs) need legitimacy to perform effectively, there are few systematic empirical studies assessing the consequences of legitimacy (or the lack thereof) for the functioning of GGIs. Inspired by the new institutionalism in organization theory, which predicts that more legitimate organizations will get more resources than illegitimate ones, we look into how legitimacy affects the resourcing of GGIs. We assess how crises of legitimacy affect the staff and financial resources of 21 GGIs from 1985 to 2015. Multivariate statistical analysis suggests that the effects of legitimacy crises on GGI resourcefulness are interesting but surprisingly weak, often GGI specific, and dependent on time and the source of the challenge. Specifically, we find that elite criticisms of GGIs lead to deep resource cuts in the short and medium term, while the effect of mass protests takes longer. The paper concludes by setting an agenda for further theorizing and empirical testing of the consequences of legitimacy in global governance.

National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-181397 (URN)10.1111/1758-5899.12685 (DOI)000487776900002 ()
Available from: 2020-05-05 Created: 2020-05-05 Last updated: 2022-02-26Bibliographically approved
Squatrito, T., Lundgren, M. & Sommerer, T. (2019). Shaming by international organizations: Mapping condemnatory speech acts across 27 international organizations, 1980–2015. Cooperation and Conflict, 54(3), 356-377
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Shaming by international organizations: Mapping condemnatory speech acts across 27 international organizations, 1980–2015
2019 (English)In: Cooperation and Conflict, ISSN 0010-8367, E-ISSN 1460-3691, Vol. 54, no 3, p. 356-377Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In the face of escalating conflicts or atrocities, international organizations (IOs), alongside non-governmental organizations (NGOs), often vocalize public condemnation. Researchers have examined NGO shaming, but no extant literature has comparatively explored if, how and why IOs shame. This article fills this gap. We conceptualize IO shaming as condemnatory speech acts and distinguish between the agent, targets and actions of shaming. We theorize how compliance and socialization are motives that lead IOs to shame. Empirically, we use new data on more than 3000 instances of IO shaming, covering 27 organizations between 1980 and 2015 to examine empirical patterns across the three dimensions of agents, targets and actions. We find that the majority of IOs do employ shaming but to varying degrees. Global, general-purpose IOs shame the most and regional, task-specific IOs the least. IOs mainly shame states, but there is a rise in the targeting of non-state and unnamed actors. While many condemned acts relate to human rights and security issues, IOs shame actions across the policy spectrum. These findings indicate that IO shaming is driven by compliance and socialization motives and that it is a wider phenomenon than previously recognized, suggesting possible avenues for further inquiry.

Keywords
Condemnation, human rights, international organizations, security, shaming, speech act
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
International Relations
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-168043 (URN)10.1177/0010836719832339 (DOI)000478617600003 ()
Funder
Swedish Research Council
Available from: 2019-04-16 Created: 2019-04-16 Last updated: 2022-02-26Bibliographically approved
Sommerer, T. & Agné, H. (2018). Consequences of Legitimacy in Global Governance. In: Jonas Tallberg, Karin Bäckstrand, Jan Aart Scholte (Ed.), Legitimacy in Global Governance: Sources, Processes, and Consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Consequences of Legitimacy in Global Governance
2018 (English)In: Legitimacy in Global Governance: Sources, Processes, and Consequences / [ed] Jonas Tallberg, Karin Bäckstrand, Jan Aart Scholte, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

This chapter outlines a new research agenda on the consequences of legitimacy for the effectiveness of global governance institutions. The chapter sets the stage for systematic investigation of this issue by disaggregating consequences into empirically observable components and by outlining a research strategy to study these different impacts. Specifically, the chapter highlights four sequential types of consequences, relating to: (a) the resources committed to an institution; (b) the scale of policy output produced by an institution; (c) the actor compliance with an institution’s policies; and (d) the problem-solving effectiveness of the institution. The chapter illustrates the empirical fruitfulness of new quantitative measurements of legitimacy crisis, and argues for its usefulness to test effects of legitimacy in global governance.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018
Keywords
legitimacy, legitimacy crisis, effectiveness, performance, global governance, international organizations, comparative methods
National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-155285 (URN)10.1093/oso/9780198826873.003.0009 (DOI)9780198826873 (ISBN)
Available from: 2018-04-17 Created: 2018-04-17 Last updated: 2022-02-26Bibliographically approved
Sommerer, T. & Tallberg, J. (2017). Transnational Access to International Organizations 1950-2010: A New Dataset. International Studies Perspectives, 18(3), 247-266
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Transnational Access to International Organizations 1950-2010: A New Dataset
2017 (English)In: International Studies Perspectives, ISSN 1528-3577, E-ISSN 1528-3585, Vol. 18, no 3, p. 247-266Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article introduces a new dataset on the access of transnational actors (TNAs) to international organizations (IOs). While IOs were long the exclusive preserve of member governments, the past decades have witnessed a shift toward more inclusive forms of governance, involving participation by non-governmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, multinational corporations, and other forms of TNAs. Yet existing research has lacked the data necessary to map this phenomenon and its variation over dimensions such as time, issue areas, and world regions. The TRANSACCESS dataset is designed for this purpose, and contains information on the level of openness in 298 bodies of 50 IOs from 1950 to 2010. On the basis of this dataset, we also introduce a first quantitative measure of institutional openness, in the shape of a composite index, available at both IO and body level. This index can be used to compare TNA access across and within IOs, but also as a variable in large-N studies on global and regional governance where IO openness is potentially relevant.

Keywords
International organizations, transnational actors, data
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-122958 (URN)10.1093/isp/ekv022 (DOI)000409209600001 ()
Funder
EU, European Research CouncilRiksbankens Jubileumsfond
Available from: 2015-11-12 Created: 2015-11-12 Last updated: 2022-02-23Bibliographically approved
Tallberg, J., Sommerer, T. & Squatrito, T. (2016). Democratic Memberships in International Organizations: Sources of Institutional Design. The Review of International Organizations, 11(1), 59-87
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Democratic Memberships in International Organizations: Sources of Institutional Design
2016 (English)In: The Review of International Organizations, ISSN 1559-7431, E-ISSN 1559-744X, Vol. 11, no 1, p. 59-87Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Domestic regime type has emerged a powerful explanation of multiple phenomena in world politics. This article extends this argument to the design of international organizations (IOs), where a profound development in recent decades is growing access for transnational actors (TNAs). While earlier research has shown that democracy in IO memberships helps to explain IO openness, we know little about the mechanisms that drive this effect. This article unpacks the relationship between democratic memberships and IO design by theorizing and assessing the impact of three different constellations of democracies on the openness of IOs. Empirically, we conduct a multivariate analysis of TNA access to 50 IOs from 1950 to 2010, combined with a case study of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Our main findings are three-fold. First, democracy’s effect on openness is primarily a product of the combined weight of democracies within IOs and their resulting capacity to secure support for their polity preferences. Second, in contrast, we only find limited support for a specific influence of new democracies and democratic major powers on IO openness. Third, decision rules that allow for openness reforms to be adopted by a majority of member states facilitate and strengthen the influence of democracies, by reducing the ability of autocracies to block change. The findings have implications for our understanding of institutional design in global governance and democracy’s effects in world politics.

Keywords
Democracy, Political regime, International organization, Global governance, Institutional design, Openness
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-122956 (URN)10.1007/s11558-015-9227-7 (DOI)000369427200003 ()
Funder
EU, European Research CouncilRiksbankens Jubileumsfond
Available from: 2015-11-12 Created: 2015-11-12 Last updated: 2022-02-23Bibliographically approved
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