‘Can you pass the salt?’ The legitimacy of international institutions and indirect speech

摘要: This article introduces the concept of indirect speech and shows what it can contribute to understanding ‘legitimacy talk’ regarding international institutions. Indirect occurs when one kind illocutionary act is used communicate another. Examples include euphemism, some forms politeness a request expressed as question (‘Can you pass salt?’). Transporting concepts from pragmatics sociolinguistics, this argues that legitimacy talk often serves function in politics, operating by expressing specific requests form more generalized claims. Understanding double role sheds light on otherwise puzzling empirical phenomena, such why states frame their demands terms they are transparently self-serving, with different interests nonetheless express same terms, persist doing so long after there any realistic hope being ‘persuasive...