Legitimacy, Governance, and Power Lesson

Cartoon image of a scroll and pen Is it Legit? For a country, legitimacy answers the question, who has political power? Legitimacy is the right to rule, as determined by citizens. Some countries enjoy high legitimacy, while others don't. You may wonder how communist China achieves legitimacy, or if Iran or Nigeria has any legitimacy at all. The degree of a country's legitimacy can be determined by looking at internal sources that contribute to its legitimacy.

Such sources include results, or whether the country is providing the basic needs of the people such as security, welfare, and respect for human rights; habit, where people through time become accustomed to obeying the laws of the government; various historical, religious, or ethnic sources, for example, "Mother Russia;" by procedures namely, democratic elections; or fear, as is the case for some Arab regimes; and finally belief systems, such as communism or fascism.

The factors that encourage legitimacy in both democratic and authoritarian regimes are economic well-being, historical tradition/longevity, charismatic leadership, nationalism, and satisfaction with the government's performance or the responsiveness of government. For more information regarding legitimacy, find and read about this subject in your e-textbook.

Quick Glance: Political Ideologies

Political ideologies are sets of political values held by individuals regarding the basic goals of government and politics.

Liberalism, for example, 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.

Liberals also believe that citizens have the right to disagree with state decisions and act to change the decisions of their leaders. Communism in contrast to liberalism generally values equality over freedom.

To eliminate inequalities and exploitation, communists advocate the takeover of all resources by the state that in turn will ensure that true economic equality exists for the community as a whole. Socialism shares the value of equality with communism but is also influenced by the liberal value of freedom.

Socialists accept and promote private ownership and free-market principles, but also believe that the state has a strong role to play in regulating the economy and providing benefits to the public in order to ensure some measure of equality. Fascism also rejects the value of equality and accepts the idea that people and groups exist in degrees of inferiority and superiority.

Fascists believe that the state has the right and responsibility to mold the society and economy and to eliminate obstacles (including people) that might weaken them.

No strictly fascist regimes currently exist, but fascism still is an influential ideology in many parts of the world.

The last ideology is religion. Most societies are secularized, so that religious leaders are usually not the same people as political leaders. However, when we consider our core countries, we find that the British monarch is formally the head of the Anglican Church (the state religion). Iran bases its entire political system on Shia Islam and in Nigeria; religious law (Sharia) is an important basis of legitimacy in the Muslim North but not in the Christian south.

Concept of Legitimacy Video

It is now time to watch the Concept of Legitimacy video. Take notes as you watch the video and reach out to your instructor with any questions.

Political Ideologies Video

It is now time to watch the Political Ideologies video. Take notes as you watch the video and reach out to your instructor with any questions.

Challenge Activity

Please complete the following Legitimacy, Governance, and Power Review Activity.

Takeaway & Sendoff

Think about the following questions:

How does each core country account for legitimacy?
By what criteria do we judge the legitimacy of each core country?
What role does political ideology play in the authority of a country?
How can political ideology shape the values of individuals in a country?

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