Project coordinator and PI: Kristina S. Weißmüller (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Project members: Tijs van den Broek (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands) & Steven J. Watson (University of Twente, the Netherlands), Alina Kaufmann (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands) .

More information: https://research.vu.nl/en/projects/justifying-the-unjust-a-multidisciplinary-study-exploring-and-ass 

Research objectives: Criminal groups communicate strategically about their practices to legitimate them in the court of public opinion as well as to morally justify their actions. For example, claims about the harmed party’s immorality, lack of intended harm, or positioning oneself as a Robin Hood type “virtuous criminal” may be used to derive communication strategies that legitimize criminal action through the psychological mechanism of moral balancing. Although legitimation strategies are common practices, we do not know how the general public evaluates criminal groups’ legitimation strategies. The goal of this project is to study the influence of legitimation strategies by criminal groups on public opinion. By conducting a systematic literature review and behavioral conjoint experiments informed by crime-fighting and prevention stakeholder expertise, this research project will reveal what types of legitimation strategies exist, what makes them effective, and how they may dangerously sway public opinion. Synergistically combining previously dispersed expertise from VU and UT researchers, this project lays important groundwork for subsequent research projects, and directly informs practice: a better understanding of the effectiveness of legitimation strategies will help support law enforcement agencies to develop effective delegitimization strategies to counter criminal action. 

Keywords: Legitimization Strategies; Criminal practices; Public Opinion; Behavioral Public Administration; Anti-Corruption; Trust in Institutions 

Research output:

1. Weißmüller, van den Broek, Krawinkel, & Watson, (2025). "How Organizations Engaged in Criminal Activities Sway Public Opinion: Insights on Discursive Legitimization Strategies From a Scoping Review." Pre-registration: https://osf.io/je54s [open access]. 

2. Weißmüller, van den Broek, Krawinkel, & Watson, (2025). "Scoping Review of the Legitimation Strategies Used by Organizations Engaging in Unlawful Activities." OSF Preprint:https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/pxt5r_v1 [open access]. 

3. Weißmüller, van den Broek, Kaufmann, & Watson (2025). "Justify the Unjust: Insights from a Discrete Choice Experiment on what makes Criminal Organizations’ Legitimization Strategies Effective". Working paper.