Power and Legitimacy

AP Comparative Government
Power and Legitimacy

• Power is the ability to get people or groups to do what they

otherwise would not do
• In order to wield power one must have some form of legitimacy
• Legitimacy is the right to rule as determined by their own citizens
Legitimacy

• Legitimacy can be achieved in a variety of ways

• Traditional legitimacy
• Traditional legitimacy rests upon the belief that tradition should determine who should rule and
how they should rule (monarchies, religion)
• Charismatic legitimacy
• Charismatic legitimacy is based upon the dynamic personality of an individual leader or a small
group. This type of legitimacy is notoriously short-lived because it usually does not survive its
founder
• Rational-legal legitimacy
• Rational-legal legitimacy is based on a system of well-established laws and procedures.
• It is therefore anchored in strong institutions that carry on for generations
• Rational-legal legitimacy is often based upon the acceptance of rule of law, or the idea that
everyone must follow the law
• Common law is based on tradition, past practices, and legal precedents
• Code law is based on a comprehensive system of written rules of law divide into different codes
Legitimacy

• These concepts can influence the legitimacy of a state

• Economic well-being
• Historical tradition/longevity
• Charismatic leadership
• Nationalism/shared political culture
• Satisfaction with the government’s performance/responsiveness
Political Culture

• Political culture refers to the collection of political beliefs,

values, practices, and institution that the government is based on
• If a society values individualism, the government will reflect this value
• Political culture can often be measured by social capital
• The higher the social capital, the higher the trust exists between citizens
and government
Types of political culture

• Consensual political culture

• Generally with consensual political culture, people accept both the
legitimacy of the regime and its solutions to major problems
• This trust persists even in cases when the people do not agree with the
decisions being made
• Conflictual political culture
• Citizens in a conflictual political culture are sharply divided regarding the
legitimacy of the regime and the solutions the regimes offers to fix major
problems
Political Ideology

• Political ideologies are sets of political values held by individuals

regarding the basic goals of government and politics
• Main political ideologies include:
• Liberalism
• This ideology places emphasis on individual political and economic freedom
• Liberals seek to maximize freedom for all people, including free speech, freedom of
religion, and freedom of association
• Communism
• This ideology values equality over freedom
• This equality, as dictated by the government, should eliminate exploitation
• Communists believe in equality of outcome, not just equality of opportunity
Political Ideology

• Socialism
• Socialism also values the concept of equality, but is influenced by liberal
freedoms
• Socialists accept and promote private ownership and free market principles but
believe that the state has a strong role in regulating the economy and providing
benefits to the public
• Fascism
• This ideology accepts the idea that people and groups exist in degrees of
inferiority and superiority
• They believe in the superiority of the state over the individual
Political Ideology

• Religion-
• Religion can play a large role in how a society works and functions. There
are varying degrees to which a country deals with religion within its borders
• Some countries, like the United States, have a very strict separation of
government power and religious practice
• Some countries, like the United Kingdom, have official state religions but are
very secularized
• Some countries, like Iran, are theocracies and require that religion permeate
every party of society
• Some countries, like China, play a large role in marginalizing religion within
their society
• All of this can lead to the politicization of religion