The legitimacy of international institutions has in recent years received growing interest from scholars, yet analyses of stakeholder perceptions of the legitimacy of institutions that coexist within a governance field have been few in number. Motivated by the proliferation of institutions in the field of global climate and energy governance, this study maps stakeholder perceptions of legitimate institutions and their sources of legitimacy in global renewable energy governance. Specifically, the article makes three contributions to the existing literature. Theoretically, it unpacks the legitimacy concept and offers a multidimensional conception of legitimacy. Methodologically, it captures these different dimensions of legitimacy by relying on three open survey questions. Empirically, it maps legitimacy perceptions among climate and energy experts and not only shows which institutions are considered most legitimate, but also why they are considered legitimate and how this varies between different stakeholders. The article thereby contributes to the literature on legitimacy by providing new insights into the sources of legitimacy among international institutions that operate under institutional complexity.

中文翻译：

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制度复杂性下的合法性：绘制利益相关者对合法制度的看法及其在全球可再生能源治理中的合法性来源

近年来，国际机构的合法性越来越受到学者们的关注，但对利益相关者对治理领域内共存机构合法性的看法的分析很少。受全球气候和能源治理领域机构激增的推动，本研究绘制了利益相关者对合法机构的看法及其在全球可再生能源治理中的合法性来源。具体来说，本文对现有文献做出了三个贡献。从理论上讲，它解开了合法性概念，并提供了一个多维的合法性概念。在方法论上，它依靠三个开放式调查问题来捕捉合法性的这些不同维度。根据经验，它描绘了气候和能源专家对合法性的看法，不仅显示了哪些机构被认为是最合法的，而且还显示了为什么它们被认为是合法的，以及不同利益相关者之间的差异。因此，本文通过对在制度复杂性下运作的国际机构的合法性来源提供新的见解，为合法性文献做出了贡献。