Political sociology of peacebuilding organizations. Introduction

This special section turns its gaze inwards to explore how legitimate authority is constructed in the field of peacebuilding. Authority building in peacebuilding has attracted much research interest since peacebuilding efforts have become unending ‘transitions’ from war to peace. Commonly, the main reference point of these debates is Max Weber’s distinction between bureaucratic, traditional and charismatic legitimacy. Drawing on the articles in this special section, the introduction discusses the limits of a Weberian approach and suggests a number of amendments in order to better frame research into the political sociology of global institutions of peace.