What is ‘legitimacy’? Is legitimation possible through non-linguistic modes? These are the key theoretical questions with which this study is concerned. It explores them in conjunction with an analysis of American political spot advertisements. These ads are situated at the nexus between legitimation and multimodality, and their relevance to contemporary politics on the world stage is reflected in the immense financial and skilled resources which have been — and continue to be — devoted to them. A historical perspective into legitimation, multimodality and the attendant concepts of rationality and irrationality is given, followed by a discussion challenging the assumed rational role accorded to language. So challenged, the discussion moves to looking at the pairing of multimodality and politics; first from a historical viewpoint, and then from a more contemporary one. The role of myth, in the form of the American Dream, is investigated, leading to discussion of political appropriation, branding, tangibility, affordances and the (im)possibility of restricting interpretation. Spot ads are analysed with a specific focus: first on modal salience, and secondly on how the semiotic richness of the concept of nature is exploited for purposes of legitimation.

Legitimation and professionalization of a Romani NGO in the Czech Republic Hana Synková This PhD. thesis maps strategies of legitimation and survival of non-governmental organizations working with people that use to be categorized as "socially excluded" or "Roma". It attempts to answer the question: "What NGOs do to be able to look successful, gain resources, and create organizational reputation?" This work does not treat organizations as "things", but as processes and social networks influenced by state and European policies, funding mechanisms and internal competition. Despite the organizations being discursively divided into those preferring more ethnic or social definition of their clients, they have to cope with the same pressures in the shape of social services law, standards of quality or control systems that come with projects. Organizations are far from devoting their time to "work with clients"; they are also involved in enlarging social capital of their members and in production of "texts" that serve their legitimation claims towards control bodies, other organizations and public. In order to research these publicly less visible processes, the authoress uses methods of organizational anthropology - fieldwork inside organization and at many places which are contextually linked to the...