IO Legitimation and the Use of Force

Research project funded in academic years 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.In this project, Thompson set out to explain why the endorsement of an international organization (IO) such as the United Nations plays such a key role in American foreign policy decisions to use force. Why did foreign leaders and publics care whether the United States got U.N. support for its actions? The answer to these questions rests on the notion of legitimation, or the process by which IOs transfer legitimacy onto the actions of states.Mershon Center for International Security StudiesProject summar