Legitimacy (1)

Legitimacy (1)

1. State Legitimatcy

   • Beetham's 3 Criteria for Legitamacy
     • 1. Power should be acquired and excercised according to established rules
     • 2. Rules to be justifiable by reference to shared and accepted beliefs
     • 3. Positions of authority are publicly acknowledged by subordinates through actions that confirm their acceptance
   • Definitions
     • Lipset, 1959
       • Capacity of a political system to engender and maintain the belief that the existing institutions are most appropriate or the proper ones for society.
         • Citizens more likely to accept, deter, consent, and submit to its decisions and rule; state can govern effectively
     • Uphoff, 1989
       • Authority & legitimacy differ in that one is a claim for compliance while the other is an acceptance of that claim.
   • Basis for legitamacy
     • Institutions/political culture (Lipset)
       • 1. Belief that institutions must be appropriate for socieity
       • 2. Effectiveness (performance/development/ progress)
     • Authority (Weber)
       • 1. Charismatic authority
       • 2. Legal-rational authority
       • 3. Traditional Authority
       • 4. Value-rational authority (Spenser, 1970)

2. Democratic System Legitmacy

   • Contributing Factors
     • 1. Proven, prolonged effectiveness
     • 2. Constant economic development
     • 3. Presence of widely accepted political symbols
       • a. preservation of traditional symbols of legitimacy b. development of strong, new symbols c. combination of traditional and new symbols
   • Sources
     • 1. effective political system w/ relatively equitable distribution of resources to major groups
     • 2. Existence of moderate tension & conflict, that are facilitated by system's capacity to resolve
     • 3. Cross-cutting cleavages, rather than self-enforcing ones that fuel political intolerance
     • 4. Acknowledge rise of new states groups, incorporate political demands to existing political system
     • 5. Discourage politics of intolerance, by discouraging ideological politics
   • Sources in post-crisis of change
     • 1. Continuity of important traditional integrative institutions during transitional period
     • 2. Providing new groups access to legitimate political institutions
     • 3. Extent to which secular political culture is institutionalized
     • 4. Effective political system that provides some semblance of stability
   • Crisis of legitimacy
     • 1. Arises from deep cleavages in society
     • Results in revolutionary call for change.
       • Occurs when major conservative institutions are threatened
       • Major groups in society do not have access to political system in the trasition
       • 3. Emergent, politically active social groups are denied access to political process (entry to politics crisis)

3. Lipset's Hypothesis

   • 1. Political leaders need to resolve major issues dividing society before new ones arise
   • 2. countries with low level of effectiveness and legitimacy will require constitutional factors that enhance its chances of developing into a stable democracy
   • 3. two party systems > multi-party systems
   • 4. Territorial elections > proportional representation
   • 5.Federalism > unitary state

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