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Legitimacy is "a value whereby something or someone is recognized and accepted as right and proper". [6] In political science, legitimacy has traditionally been understood as the popular acceptance and recognition by the public of the authority of a governing régime, whereby authority has political power through consent and mutual understandings, not coercion.
The term authority identifies the political legitimacy, which grants and justifies rulers' right to exercise the power of government; and the term power identifies the ability to accomplish an authorized goal, either by compliance or by obedience; hence, authority is the power to make decisions and the legitimacy to make such legal decisions ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 16 December 2024. Activities associated with group decisions For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). Part of the Politics series Politics Outline Index Category Primary topics Outline of political science Index of politics articles Politics by country Politics by subdivision Political economy ...
Political authority grants members of a government the right to rule over citizens using coercion if necessary (i.e., political legitimacy), while imposing an obligation for the citizens to obey government orders (i.e., political obligation). [2] A central question in political philosophy is "To what extent is political authority legitimate?"
"Consent of the governed" is a phrase found in the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson.. Using thinking similar to that of John Locke, the founders of the United States believed in a state built upon the consent of "free and equal" citizens; a state otherwise conceived would lack legitimacy and rational-legal authority.
Claims of legitimacy might refer to the divine right of kings, or to a social contract (i.e. popular sovereignty). [citation needed] Max Weber offered a first categorization of political authority and legitimacy with the categories of traditional, charismatic and legal-rational.
Charismatic authority grows out of the personal charm or the strength of an individual personality. [2] It was described by Weber in a lecture as "the authority of the extraordinary and personal gift of grace (charisma)"; he distinguished it from the other forms of authority by stating "Men do not obey him [the charismatic ruler] by virtue of tradition or statute, but because they believe in him."
With respect to political theory, a state is perceived as being legitimate when its citizens treat it as properly holding and exercising political power. [7] [8] While the term exists beyond the political realm, as it encompasses sociology, philosophy, and psychology, legitimacy is often referred to with respect to actors, institutions, and the political orders they constitute. [3]