Public opinion and international organizations

Public opinion has become an increasingly important issue for international organizations (IOs) in the wake of growing politicization and contestation of global governance. This special issue aims to advance the research field on this topic by examining the ways in which public opinion and IOs are interconnected. In this introduction, we contribute to this aim by identifying three core areas of research: the drivers of public opinion toward IOs, the effects of public opinion on IOs, and the influence of IOs on public opinion. For each area, we introduce key theoretical typologies, review the state of knowledge, and outline how the articles in this special issue advance the field. We conclude by outlining an agenda for future research, calling for scholarship to further explore the interplay between public opinion and IOs, unpack public opinion and global governance, and expand the comparative scope beyond the western context.