TY - JOUR
T1 - The waning legitimacy of international organisations and their promissory visions
AU - Elfert, Maren
AU - Auld, Euan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024/7/3
Y1 - 2024/7/3
N2 - We argue that the legitimacy of international organisations (IOs) as self-proclaimed representatives of humankind, which was unfounded from the outset, is waning. To substantiate that claim, we undertake a critical inquiry into the legitimacy of the promissory visions pursued by IOs in the field of education across three historical periods. The first traces the rationalistic educational planning and idealistic ‘one world’ projects of the post-World War II period. The second examines the era of globalisation, when the discourse that legitimised the educational visions of IOs shifted towards the promises of the ‘global knowledge economy’. The third discusses the contemporary trend towards emergency governance and crisis narratives. While the narratives of progress shifted, a pattern that has emerged is the move towards globalism and uniformity. Drawing on insights from philosophy and historical studies of world-empire, we argue that the world-making experiments conducted by IOs were destined to be unsuccessful.
AB - We argue that the legitimacy of international organisations (IOs) as self-proclaimed representatives of humankind, which was unfounded from the outset, is waning. To substantiate that claim, we undertake a critical inquiry into the legitimacy of the promissory visions pursued by IOs in the field of education across three historical periods. The first traces the rationalistic educational planning and idealistic ‘one world’ projects of the post-World War II period. The second examines the era of globalisation, when the discourse that legitimised the educational visions of IOs shifted towards the promises of the ‘global knowledge economy’. The third discusses the contemporary trend towards emergency governance and crisis narratives. While the narratives of progress shifted, a pattern that has emerged is the move towards globalism and uniformity. Drawing on insights from philosophy and historical studies of world-empire, we argue that the world-making experiments conducted by IOs were destined to be unsuccessful.
KW - International organisations; global governance; promissory visions; legitimacy; Empire
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85197443302&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03050068.2024.2371271
DO - 10.1080/03050068.2024.2371271
M3 - Article
SN - 0305-0068
VL - 60
SP - 377
EP - 400
JO - COMPARATIVE EDUCATION
JF - COMPARATIVE EDUCATION
IS - 3
ER -