German Institute for Global and Area Studies |
Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

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Prof. Dr. Tobias Lenz

Associate

Head of Leibniz Junior Research Group

Short CV

  • Since 2020: Associate at the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies

  • Since 2020: Professor of International Relations, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany, and Head of the Leibniz Junior Research Group “Sources and Consequences of Legitimation Strategies of Regional Organizations” (LegRO)

  • 2019 - 2020: Senior Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Latin American Studies and Head of the Leibniz Junior Research Group “Sources and Consequences of Legitimation Strategies of Regional Organizations” (LegRO)

Current Research

  • International and regional governmental organizations in comparative perspective

  • EU in global regionalism

  • International institutional complexity

  • Institutional design and evolution

  • Legitimacy and legitimation

  • Diffusion theories

Countries and Regions

  • Latin America

Research Programme

Publications

GIGA Focus Global | 07/2021

Claimed Legitimacy: Appreciating the Diversity of Regional Organisations

Regional organisations (ROs) are key actors in global and regional governance, and their authority has continuously grown in all world regions. In the face of growing contestation and politicization, these ROs increasingly justify their right to rule. The GIGA Focus Global analyses their legitimation patterns.
Picture of Niklas Krösche
Niklas Krösche, Doctoral Researcher
Picture of Swantje Schirmer
Swantje Schirmer, Doctoral Researcher
Picture of Tobias Lenz
Prof. Dr. Tobias Lenz Associate
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Projects

Research Project | 01/06/2018 - 01/05/2023

Sources and Consequences of Legitimation Strategies of Regional Organizations (LegRO)

In an era of increasing political challenges to global and regional organizations, it is crucial to understand how they claim legitimacy, and how successful they are in this respect. Yet, we know surprisingly little about the sources and consequences of legitimation in most regional organizations around the world. In this project we thus map the legitimation strategies of a sample of 30 organizations and conduct qualitative comparative case studies on major organizations in the Global South. Leibniz Association, 2018-2023
Research Project | 01/09/2016 - 31/08/2020

Globalisation, Europe & Multilateralism – Sophistication of the Transnational Order, Networks, and European Strategies (GEM STONES)

The rapid rise in the number of international institutions increases the complexity of the global system. Does this complexity strengthen or weaken the EU's capacity to interact with the world? This is the core question in GEM-STONES, an integrated research and PhD fellowship programme of 15 European institutions, coordinated by the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The two early stage researchers who stay at the GIGA study regional integration processes and regional security governance. EC, Horizon 2020, 2016-2020

Lectures

Moderator, Organiser | 21/01/2020

Legitimacy in Global Governance

GIGA Event
GIGA Hamburg: 21/01/2020

Legitimacy is central for the capacity of global governance institutions (GGIs) to address problems such as climate change, trade protectionism, and human rights abuses. However, despite legitimacy’s importance for global governance, its workings remain poorly understood. That is the core concern of the research program LegGov: to offer the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of legitimacy in global governance. To what extent are GGIs regarded as legitimate? What explains that legitimacy? By what processes are GGIs legitimated and delegitimated? What are the consequences of legitimacy (or its absence) for the functioning of GGIs?
Prof. Dr. Tobias Lenz Associate
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