Admin Which is the best describes legitimacy?
Legitimacy is commonly defined in political science and sociology as the belief that a rule, institution, or leader has the right to govern. It is a judgment by an individual about the rightfulness of a hierarchy between rule or ruler and its subject and about the subordinate’s obligations toward the rule or ruler.
Why do we need legitimacy?
Legitimacy is a crucial aspect of all power relations. Without legitimacy, power is exerted through coercion; with legitimacy, power can be exerted through voluntary or quasi-voluntary compliance. Legitimacy lies at the core of state-citizen relationships and thus of the whole state-building agenda.
Which is the best definition of a legitimate policy?
On this basis, as a provisional definition, a “legitimate” policy can be defined as a policy such that the political entity did not outreach its role by designing and implementing it, by using public money to finance it, by taking advantage of civil servants to enforce it, and so on. This definition is clear and consensual.
What is the normative meaning of political legitimacy?
The normative concept of political legitimacy is often seen as related to the justification of authority. The main function of political legitimacy, on this interpretation, is to explain the difference between merely effective or de facto authority and legitimate authority.
How is the legitimacy of the state related to its power?
Whether a political body such as a state is legitimate and whether citizens have political obligations towards it depends, on this view on whether the coercive political power that the state exercises is justified. On a widely held alternative view, legitimacy is linked to the justification of political authority.
How is legitimacy related to the justification of authority?
On a widely held alternative view, legitimacy is linked to the justification of political authority. On this view, political bodies such as states may be effective, or de facto , authorities, without being legitimate.