Legitimacy is a specific property of political power. This is a form of support and recognition of its legitimacy, the implementation of government by the state or its individual structures.
The origins of the concept of “legitimacy” originate from the Latin word “legality”. But these two concepts are not synonymous.
Political power is not always based on laws and law, but support for one or another part of the population is always present. This is not legal and legal, based on legislation, type of government. Power at the same time can be legal, but not legitimate, or legitimate, but not legal. The ideal option is when power is both legal and legitimate.
The possibility of legitimization has been much discussed throughout the history of political thought. Some scholars believe that power can be such at the expense of common values and ideals for all that allow citizens to express its support.
At the same time, other scholars argue that such common values do not exist in a segmented society, so legitimate power is impossible.
Supporters of contractual theories believe that legitimacy is a concept that comes from citizens' agreement on goals and values.
E. Burke singled out theoretical and practical aspects in this concept, and analyzed it only in relation to any regime. He believed that the habit and positive experience of citizens can contribute to building such a model of power that could satisfy all the interests of citizens and get their full support.
At present, it is generally accepted that legitimacy is the support of the government, which comes from three subjects: the population, government and foreign policy structures. They are its sources. Regarding the population, legitimacy is support from the general population. This, in fact, is the cherished goal of all
political regimes, the achievement of which is able to ensure the stability and stability of power. The legitimacy and legality of power are not connected in any way. A positive attitude of the population towards it can be formed against the background of any problem that is in the center of public attention. But negativism can be formed in conditions of poor government and its low efficiency.
Often, legitimacy is initiated and formed by the government, political structures that encourage the mass consciousness to give positive assessments to the existing regime. The more effectively the elite structures support the conviction of people in the optimality of the current state of affairs, the higher this indicator in relation to power.
External political centers can play the same role: international organizations, friendly countries. This type of gaining legitimacy is often used in election races. This is an unstable phenomenon, it can vary its intensity. A decline in intensity may lead to a crisis of legitimacy. This phenomenon is often associated with the destabilization of power, that is, its inability to exercise its functions, the use of violence, military conflicts, the lack of flexibility of the political regime, and the violation of constitutional rights.