What Is The Difference Between Legitimacy And Authority?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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In political science, legitimacy is

the right and acceptance of an authority

, usually a governing law or a regime. Whereas authority denotes a specific position in an established government, the term legitimacy denotes a system of government—wherein government denotes “sphere of influence”.

What is legitimacy authority?

2 Legitimacy

A legitimate authority is

one which is entitled to have its decisions and rules accepted and followed by others

. In the case of law, people feel a personal responsibility to comply voluntarily with those laws that are created and enforced by legitimate legal authorities.

What is meant by 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.

What is an example of legitimacy?

Legitimacy is defined as the lawfulness or authenticity of something, or refers to the status of a child being born to married parents. …

When a child is born to a mother and father who are married

, this is an example of legitimacy.

Is legitimate power and authority are the same?

Power is an entity’s or individual’s ability to control or direct others, while

authority is influence

that is predicated on perceived legitimacy. … In other words, power is necessary but not sufficient for authority.

What is the principle of legitimacy?


When people in authority want a collective group to conform, it matters first and foremost how they behave

. This is called the “principle of legitimacy”.

What are the elements of legitimacy?

12 It is not particularly controversial to disaggregate normative legitimacy into three elements:

input, process (‘throughput’), and output

. 1. Input or consent legitimacy refers to the constitutive process for establishing and maintaining institutions or regimes.

What is legitimacy and why is it important?

Legitimacy is important for all regimes. Legitimacy

sustains political stability as it establishes the reasonableness of a regime

, or says, provide reason for the regime to exist. … It is because election contributes to provide justification for the existence of a regime, thus consolidates its legitimacy.

What are 3 types of authority?

His three types of authority are

traditional authority, charismatic authority and legal-rational authority

(Weber 1922). mandate to rule.

What is legitimate power?

Legitimate power –

The authority granted to someone stemming from a position in a group or organization

. Legitimate power stems from an authority’s legitimate right to require and demand compliance. Legitimate power stems from a leader’s formal authority over activities.

What is legitimate and example?

verb. The definition of legitimate is within the rules, correct or accepted as proper. It also refers to a person whose parents are married when he or she is born. An example of a legitimate idea is

one that is accepted and that scientists can prove

. An example of a legitimate child is someone born to married parents.

What is legitimacy and its types?

According to one usage of the term, a government is said to be ‘legitimate’ if

the people to whom its orders are directed believe that the structure, procedures, acts, decisions, policies, officials

, or leaders or government possess the quality of Tightness, propriety or moral goodness—the right, in short, to make …

How do you use legitimacy in a sentence?

  1. Terry doubted the legitimacy of his husband’s excuses since he lied to her in the past.
  2. Grant questioned the legitimacy of the experiment results and decided to redo the testing.
  3. During the trial, the legitimacy of the suspect’s alibi was called into question.

What are the 7 types of power?

  • Legitimate Power. This power happens when someone is in a higher position, giving them control over others. …
  • Coercive Power. “There is not a time of day when you should use it,” Lipkin tells us. …
  • Expert Power. …
  • Informational Power. …
  • Power of Reward. …
  • Connection Power. …
  • Referent Power.

What is legitimate power Example?

Legitimate power is power that comes from one’s organizational role or position. For example,

a boss can assign projects

, a policeman can arrest a citizen, and a teacher assigns grades.

What is the negative effect of coercive power?

Coercive Power Disadvantages


Lowers job satisfaction

: people resent it being used on them as they feel under a microscope. Backlash threat: there is always the threat of a backlash when using coercive power.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.