Elite Framing and the Legitimacy of Global Private Environmental Governance

Abstract: The rise of global private environmental governance has inspired a sizeable stream of research seeking to assess whether organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) are legitimate. These organizations now are vital actors addressing global challenges and overcoming collective action problems, but public opposition has the power to severely curb their effectiveness. Yet to date we have a very limited understanding of whether such organizations are supported and perceived as legitimate by the public. This paper therefore, first, draws on diverse strands of political science literature, from the politicization of European integration to the concept of Stealth Democracy, to outline why a focus on public opinion is important. Second, leveraging two survey experiments, the paper tests two competing arguments about what drives potential opposition towards organizations like the ISO and the FSC. I contrast an account centered on the role of sincere preferences over the legitimate locus of authority with an account centered on the influence of domestic elite rhetoric. Results suggest that public opinion is generally positive and that elite rhetoric about a potential democratic deficit rather than simple information about the bodies’ governance structures decreases favorability. Note: This paper is part of my dissertation (defended August 2018) entitled “Elite Framing and the Legitimacy of Global Governance”, which also includes a paper on elite rhetoric affecting perceptions of legitimacy of global governance institutions more broadly using two conjoint experiments. I also have two working papers on populist attitudes and am planning on combining these two strands of my research more clearly in the coming year. I would be flexible about which exact paper to present so please do reach out if you have questions or are more interested in a paper that examines this question more generally.