This study explores how race impacts the legitimacy of international organizations (IOs). Specifically, we examine whether the representation of Black people in IO leadership positions influences perceptions of IO legitimacy among Black and white individuals. To do so, we fielded seven survey experiments in two racially diverse countries, South Africa and the United States, and three experiments in one predominantly Black country, Kenya. Our experiments were designed to distinguish the effects of an IO leader's race from their region of origin. We find that Black IO leadership enhances perceptions of institutional legitimacy among Black citizens, but does not strongly influence the legitimacy perceptions of their white counterparts. Our findings suggest that improving the representation of historically marginalized racial groups within IOs can enhance their popular legitimacy.

本研究探讨了种族如何影响国际组织 （IO） 的合法性。具体来说，我们研究了黑人在 IO 领导职位中的代表性是否会影响黑人和白人对 IO 合法性的看法。为此，我们在两个种族多元化的国家（南非和美国）进行了 7 次调查实验，在一个以黑人为主的国家肯尼亚进行了 3 次实验。我们的实验旨在区分 IO 领导者的种族与其原籍地区的影响。我们发现，黑人 IO 领导增强了黑人公民对制度合法性的看法，但并没有强烈影响白人同行的合法性感知。我们的研究结果表明，提高 IO 中历史上被边缘化的种族群体的代表性可以提高他们的流行合法性。