Recently, there have been frequent cases when the peoples of certain countries express distrust of the authorities of their states, while such terms as "legitimacy" and "illegitimacy" appear in the press. For many, it remains unclear what these concepts mean.
Legitimacy: what is it?
The term "legitimacy" comes from the Latin word legitimus, which translates as "legal, consistent with the laws, legitimate." In political science, this term refers to the voluntary recognition by the people of state power of the right to make decisions concerning the whole people. In the scientific literature one can find full answers to the questions: "The term" legitimacy "- what is it? How to understand the expression" legitimacy of power "?" So, this is a political and legal term, which means the approving attitude of citizens of the country to the institutions of power. Naturally, in such countries the supreme power is legitimate. However, when this term first came into use, it meant a completely different thing. It was at the beginning of the 19th century in France, during the usurpation of power by Napoleon. A group of Frenchmen wanted to restore the king’s sole legitimate authority. This desire of the monarchists was called the term “legitimacy”. That this corresponds more to the meaning of the Latin word legitimus immediately becomes apparent. At the same time, Republicans began to use this term as recognition of a given state and other states established on its territory power. In the modern sense, legitimacy is the voluntary assumption of power by the masses that make up the majority. Moreover, this approval is primarily associated with a moral assessment: their ideas about nobility, justice, conscience, decency, etc. In order to gain the confidence of the masses, the authorities try to instill in them the idea that all its decisions and actions are aimed at the benefit of the people.
Types of legitimacy of power
The great German sociologist and philosopher Max Weber introduced a typology of the legitimacy of power. According to it, there are traditional, charismatic and rational legitimacy.
- Traditional legitimacy. What it is? In some states, the masses blindly believe that power is sacred, and obeying it is inevitable and necessary. In such societies, power gains the status of tradition. Naturally, a similar picture is observed in those states in which the leadership of the country is inherited (kingdom, emirate, sultanate, princedom, etc.).
- Charismatic legitimacy is formed on the basis of people's faith in the exceptional dignity and authority of a political leader. In such countries, the formation of the so-called personality cult is possible . Thanks to the charisma of the leader, the people begin to believe in the entire political system in the country. People experience emotional delight and are ready to strictly obey him in everything. Usually this type of leader takes shape at the dawn of revolutions, a change in political power, etc.
- Rational or democratic legitimacy is formed due to the recognition by the people of the justice of the actions and decisions of those in power. This type is found in complexly organized societies. In this case, legitimacy has a normative basis.
Legitimacy of the state
The idea of a legitimate state proceeds from two concepts: power and legitimacy. A state of this type, in fact, has every right to demand obedience from its citizens, since the rule of law is in the first place in these societies. Consequently, regardless of the identities of individual members of the government, the people must obey the laws in force in that state. If citizens are not satisfied with these laws, and they do not want to obey them, then they have several options: emigration (leaving this state to another), overthrowing the government (revolution), insubordination, which is fraught with the punishment provided for in the legislation of this country. A legitimate state is a mechanism for transferring the right to choose from one generation to another.