(Research Field of Michael Zürn)

Political authority beyond the nation state also requires legitimacy. On the international level, because we are dealing in part with soft and in part with lateral forms of dominion, familiar Western concepts of legitimation are not simply transferrable, especially since they must be applied in a context of global cultural diversity. The focus of my work in this regard is on legitimation potentials and the role of normative concepts like democracy and the rule of law (compare the projects on “International Organizations and the Protection of Fundamental Rights of Individuals” and “The Internationalization of the Rule of Law”).