Vertical Legitimacy Spillovers in Transnational Governance: Affect as the Microfoundation of Spillover Strength and Valence

Abstract

We argue that the legitimacy of transnational governance schemes depends on the legitimacy of associated subunits, and show how affect-based evaluations of subunit characteristics and actions generate vertical legitimacy spillovers for the scheme as a whole. We consider the impact of a positive-negative asymmetry in legitimacy ascription and develop propositions on spillover strength and valence. Our study helps specify the perceptual mechanism underlying spillover construction, and prompts the rethinking of similarity-based accounts of legitimation.

Keywords: Legitimacy spillover, transnationalization, heuristic reasoning, institutional theory