Rethinking Legitimation

Positional and Mediated Legitimation Processes for Croatian NGOs

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2363545
AutoresLaura J Heideman (Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen62
Número4
Páginas475-498
Fecha de publicación2019-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociological Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0731-1214 • E-ISSN: 1533-8673
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0731121419845882
OpenAlexW2946066606
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas35

How do new forms of organizations legitimate themselves? Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have emerged as a dominant form of civil society organization in the past 35 years, often in societies undergoing social and political transitions. This paper analyzes legitimation processes for NGOs in postwar and postcommunist Croatia using interview and archival data. Starting from a principle that legitimation is a process involving multiple audiences, I examine the mechanisms NGOs use to legitimate themselves to different audiences. I find that Croatian civil society organizations adopted the NGO organizational form to legitimate themselves to international actors, who in turn pressured the Croatian government to accept these organizations as legitimate. However, the actions NGOs took to legitimate themselves to international actors undermined their legitimacy with the Croatian public. This case demonstrates that legitimation is a challenging prospect for a new type of organization, especially given the fragile nature of mediated legitimacy and the conflicting priorities of different audiences

Civil society · Croatian · Legitimacy · Legitimation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · International Development and Aid · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance · Public Administration