Legitimacy in the 'Secular Church' of the United Nations

21 Pages Posted: 8 Jun 2017 Last revised: 25 Feb 2021

See all articles by Jodok Troy

Jodok Troy

University of Innsbruck; Stanford University

Date Written: October 12, 2017

Abstract

This article argues that how the United Nations conceptualizes legitimacy is not only a matter of legalism or power politics. The UN’s conception of legitimacy also utilizes concepts, language, and symbolism from the religious realm. Understanding the constitutional entanglement between political and religious concepts and the ways of their verbalization at the agential level sheds light on how legitimacy became to be acknowledged as an integral part of the UN and how it changes. At the constitutional level, the article examines phrases or “verbal symbols”, enshrined in the Charter of the “secular church” UN. They evoke intrinsic legitimacy claims based on religious concepts and discourse such as hope and salvation. At the agential level, the article illustrates how the Secretary-General verbalizes those abstract constitutional principles of legitimacy. Religious language and symbolism in the constitutional framework and agential practice of the UN does not necessarily produce an exclusive form of legitimacy. This article shows, however, that legitimacy as nested in the UN’s constitutional setting and verbalized by its chief administrator cannot exist without religious templates.

Keywords: United Nations, legitimacy, ethics, religion, international organizations

Suggested Citation

Troy, Jodok, Legitimacy in the 'Secular Church' of the United Nations (October 12, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2981098 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2981098

Jodok Troy (Contact Author)

University of Innsbruck ( email )

Universitätsstraße 15
Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020
Austria
+43(0)512.507.2849 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.jodok-troy.at

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

HOME PAGE: http://tec.fsi.stanford.edu/people/jodok-troy

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