Standards as Authority: Self‐Legitimation in the European Union's Global Forest Governance
研究了欧盟通过《欧盟零毁林法规》引入强制性可持续标准如何构成权威主张，并分析了三种自我合法化策略，揭示权威被转移到标准本身，欧盟则定位为中立的制定者。
ABSTRACT This paper investigates how the EU's introduction of binding sustainability standards through the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) constitutes an authoritative claim and how this claim is legitimized. Using qualitative content analysis, the paper examines three interconnected self‐legitimation strategies: (1) framing standards as optimal solutions, (2) framing sustainability challenges in support of standards as the ideal governance response, and (3) positioning the EU as a credible global standard‐setter. The analysis shows that authority is not solely asserted through power, technocratic norms, or appeals to the public interest, but is displaced into the standards themselves. The EU legitimizes its regulatory reach by presenting standards as seemingly objective carriers of authority, while positioning itself as a neutral setter of these standards. This strategy redirects contestation to regulatory and documentation systems that are presented as producing reliable governance results. The paper concludes by assessing the extent to which this configuration enables the EU to consolidate its de facto authority in global forest governance.