ABSTRACT
With emerging challenges in global governance, the legitimacy of different regional organizations (ROs) has become increasingly salient in recent decades. This chapter deals primarily with legitimacy problems faced at the regional level by European and non-European ROs by presenting a framework for evaluating the legitimacy of ROs. To this end, we survey two legitimacy criteria concerning ECOWAS, ASEAN, and MERCOSUR based on sources of legitimacy (input, output, and throughput) and the promotion of democracy and human rights. The chapter also provides a preliminary assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic ROs and their legitimacy.
