Conclusions

The conclusions reached in this book are not very positive. It argues that we should understand legitimacy as the right to function. If we accept this concept of legitimacy, we should not be overly ambitious in our legitimacy standards and should regard as legitimate the most just feasible institutional alternative. However, even this relatively permissive standard of legitimacy is apparently not met by many global governance institutions, such as the G20. Yet there may be grounds for hope. Drawing on the historical development of democracy within states, Robert E. Goodin (Int Theory, 2(2), 175–209, 2010) argues that we are on a slippery slope towards global democracy. Goodin believes that while institutional change occasionally leads to an expansion of accountability, the “circle of accountability” almost never contracts. The coming years will have to show whether this argument can be sustained in the face of the backlash against democracy and international cooperation that we are currently experiencing.