Legitimate Authority Research Articles

George Pachymeres’ Walking as a Problem

Introduction. In George Pachymeres’ historical work, “walking” turns out to be synonymous with a certain political situation. Certainly, the conflict between Michael VIII and Patriarch Arsenius is a peculiar nerve of the Byzantine historian’s historical narrative, and the Arsenite controversy is a significant problem for the Byzantine state, society, and church. In this sense, the “insignificant” “walk” seems to be a fairly accurate metaphor for the emerging political conflict, expressing certain power relations. Such a walk is nothing less than “the will to power in a discursive state.” In other words, Pachymeres’ walking man resolves issues of power by his very movement. Methods and materials. Walking as an act of everyday life has been scrutinized in contemporary cultural studies literature. From a structuralist perspective, to walk is to “speak.” Walk, in this sense, is a whole implicit sign system, with its own signs, structure, rhythm, and context. Walking turns out to be an important social gesture. In this sense, the tired but still walking patriarch of Nicaea, Arsenius the Autorianus (c. 1200–1273), should be properly understood. Analysis. This “walking” is an exceptionally vivid gesture (especially vivid in that the patriarch, not a young man at all, does not stop in his persistence even at night). Before us is not just a personal offense of Arsenius, a man who was deceived and betrayed. It is worth noting that Arsenius himself was regent under John Lascaris, and his inert patriarchal administration, actively issuing documents confirming the privileges of the monasteries, was the only legitimate authority. Such a movement of Arsenius was not so much a protest against the removal of the minor John Laskaris and usurpation of power by Michael VIII but also a defense of his authority. Results. The walking patriarch in George Pachymeres is certainly a very personal moment in the narrative. In fact, an ancient hero appears before us, challenging Fate (and Michael VIII Palaeologus, according to Pachymeres, is simply the evil Rock of the Empire) without hope of victory, where the very tragedy of the situation only emphasizes its heroism and exclusivity.

STRATEGI KOMUNIKASI PEMERINTAH DAERAH LOMBOK UTARA DALAM MEMBANGUN HUBUNGAN MASYARAKAT YANG KUAT (ANALISIS TEORI BUDAYA KUAT TERENCE DEAL DAN ALLAN)

Governments that have good relations with society tend to gain higher trust from their citizens. This trust is important for government legitimacy, which in turn increases compliance and support for government policies and programs. It is hoped that this research can help the North Lombok Regency Regional Government in developing an effective communication strategy that can be implemented in building strong community relations. Using the strong cultural theoretical framework of Terence Deal and Allan Kennedy. This research uses a qualitative approach with a literature study method. The data used comes from previous research, literature studies, and is relevant. By implementing strong cultural elements in its communications strategy, the North Lombok Regency Regional Government can build stronger relationships with the community, thereby increasing trust, participation and support for government programs. By instilling core values, elevating local heroes, holding rituals and ceremonies, utilizing informal networks, and building a strong narrative, the North Lombok Regency Regional Government can increase community trust and support. By integrating these elements, the North Lombok Regency Regional Government can create an environment that supports effective communication and builds stronger trust with the community. This will contribute to increased public participation and support for government programs, thereby bringing greater benefits to local communities

Financial soundness and subjective financial well-being: Do government policies matter?

Does government policy intervention enhance citizens’ financial well-being, particularly when considering the increased financial soundness attributed to the private sector? This study empirically addresses this question, using data from more than 200,000 individuals worldwide. To provide causal evidence, we employ a two-stage least squares (2SLS) ­approach with a high-dimensional fixed-effect estimator, which captures multiple levels of control and addresses endogeneity concerns. Our findings suggest that (i) improvements in financial soundness — proxied by domestic credit development — significantly ­increase financial satisfaction, whereas (ii) surprisingly, government interventions, whether in the form of policies tightening or loosening, tend to erode this positive effect. This outcome may reflect either (i) ineffective interventions or (ii) the government ­serving as a scapegoat for a decline in subjective financial well-being. Our findings imply that to optimize public satisfaction, governments should approach interventions in the private sector with caution, thereby strengthening government legitimacy.

Dear Compatriots

This article offers a comparative analysis of post-Soviet leaders’ new year addresses to the nation. As highly prominent, programmatic speeches, such texts provide a unique and valuable basis for examining insights from literatures on authoritarian political communication and regime legitimation. Collecting 152 new year addresses from across the region (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), we find systematic differences in leaders’ political communication depending on the openness of the regime, both in ordinary times and during global crises such as COVID-19. Autocrats’ acknowledgment of mass unrest, however, is less consistent, which we argue reflects broader uncertainties in the political as seen in our case comparisons of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Across all our cases we find leaders increasingly using new year addresses to articulate claims about the identity of the state and the nation, (re)interpreting its history, past achievements, as well as defining a vision of the future. Moreover, these visions coalesce around unitary understandings of the nation, replacing multiethnic narratives of the immediate post-Soviet period. The unique status of the new year as one of the most enduring “invented traditions” of the Soviet Union provides an important lens to assess continuity and change across the region.

Operating by caesura: Medicalisation, geopolitical othering and biopolitical legitimacy in the (non-)approval of Sputnik V in the European Union

The Covid-19 pandemic made biopolitical decisions, including on vaccine approval, a subject of public discussion, challenging governmental legitimacy at the level of its biopolitical underpinnings. We draw on Foucault’s notion of the ‘caesura’ to interpret governments’ responses as wielding their biopower by making medicalised distinctions, first between the ‘vulnerable’ and the ‘non-vulnerable’ and then, as vaccines became available, between the ‘vaccinated’ and the ‘unvaccinated’. However, we show that in the public debates over the approval of Sputnik V in the European Union—that is, over who counts as ‘appropriately vaccinated’—such medicalisation was combined with geopolitically informed boundary-drawing (and othering/inclusion) vis-à-vis Russia, both in the vast majority of member states that refused approval and in Hungary, which granted it. We analyse how the ‘customisable’ mixing of geopolitical and medical arguments constituted distinct legitimation strategies to establish the governments in question as the effective and legitimate loci of biopolitical authority.

The Design of Autocratic Trade Agreements: Economic Integration and Political Survival

Abstracts The number of preferential trade agreements signed among non-democratic states (autocratic PTAs) has grown significantly over the last decades. Trade policy scholarship remains silent on the institutional design of these autocratic economic arrangements. In this paper, we explore the core institutional characteristic of autocratic PTAs—their depth. It has been shown that many North–South and, increasingly, South–South PTAs tend to be deep, yet the depth of PTAs comprised of autocratic members remains puzzling, as government elites are faced with competing pressures for economic integration and political survival. We argue that autocratic PTAs tend to have considerable depth when it comes to the coverage of certain trade-plus issues, such as investment and trade-in services, due to the desire of government elites to attract trade and investment and enhance the ruling regime's legitimacy and political survival. However, dispute settlement provisions that could breach domestic political autonomy are carefully eschewed. We also expect to see higher levels of agreement flexibility in deep autocratic PTAs, reflecting autocrats’ dual interests in economic openness and political control. We test these expectations using data from the Design of Trade Agreements Database and we carry out interviews with trade officials to clarify the mechanisms at work.

Tax Evasion Attitudes among Category A and B Business Income Taxpayers in Ethiopia

This study investigates the activities of tax evasion attitude in Ethiopia using a mixed-methods approach. The target populations are category A and B taxpayers and tax officials of revenue offices. Data is collected through surveys and structured interviews with taxpayers, focusing on variables such as reported income, tax compliance rates, and demographic factors. Statistical techniques, regression analysis, and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders are employed for nuanced insights. Thematic analysis is employed for qualitative data analysis, with ethical considerations prioritized. Data was collected from 566 taxpayers and selected officials, using a mixed research approach with both descriptive and explanatory research design. The dependent variable is tax evasion attitude, measured by questionnaires that show taxpayers' compliance indirectly. The study found that variables such as the complexity of the tax system, tax rate, weak tax administration, compliant peers, and the role of tax advisors have a positive relationship with tax evasion attitudes. Government legitimacy had a weak and negative correlation with tax evasion attitude, while peer influence, corruption, Tax rate and tax system had a weak and positive correlation with tax evasion attitude. The study recommends that revenue authority should train taxpayers to prepare and present their tax returns, encourage large taxpayers to establish their own accounting information systems and collaborate with certified accountants.

Collaborative authoritarianism and its unintended consequences

ABSTRACT Why do authoritarian regimes maintain access to open U.S.-owned social media platforms like Twitter and how do pro-government supporters use them? While the literature on consultative authoritarianism explains how limited public engagement through purpose-built input institutions can be used to gauge public grievances and boost regime legitimacy, we know less about the implications of open social media applications and why the regime maintains access to them despite their subversive potential. This article argues that open platforms allow pro-government supporters to perform public opinion and police views that do not align with official state talking points, creating an impression of a consensus about what society “thinks.” Yet, they might push the government to respond to their demands that might not align with official state interests. I label this practice of enlisting supporters and segments of society for political control collaborative authoritarianism. This practice extends to purpose-built law enforcement apps, engaging broader segments of the population. Introducing the case of Twitter use in Saudi Arabia, this article draws on around 100 interviews that I conducted with patriotic and nationalist journalists, intellectuals, and Twitter influencers across Saudi Arabia between November 2021 and May 2022. The article provides novel insights into the grassroots politics of digital authoritarianism as well as the mobilization of illiberal movements beyond Saudi Arabia.

Peran Pilar Demokrasi dalam Meningkatkan Ketahanan Nasional di Tengah Tantangan Globalisasi

This research discusses the role of the pillars of democracy, namely the rule of law, community participation, and government transparency, in building Indonesia's national resilience in the era of globalisation. Using a qualitative approach based on literature analysis, this study finds that the rule of law supports social stability through the enforcement of justice, community participation strengthens government legitimacy, and transparency increases accountability and public trust. Global challenges such as economic dependency and radical ideologies require strengthening democracy through legal reform, political education, and administrative digitalisation. With this strategy, Indonesia can face the dynamics of globalisation while maintaining its national stability and sovereignty.

Prime-time Solov′ev: rhetorical strategies of a wartime propagandist

ABSTRACT This article offers an in-depth analysis of the dominant rhetorical strategies employed by the Russian television journalist Vladimir Solov′ev, in his reporting on and discussions of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Using a combination of discourse analysis and close reading to examine Solov′ev’s opening monologues to 158 of the most watched episodes between June 2021 (nine months prior to the invasion) and February 2023 (the one-year anniversary of the invasion), the author identifies and interprets three thematic narrative clusters central to Solov′ev’s effort to explain and rationalize the war for viewers – narratives framing the enemy, narratives framing Russia and its leaders, and narratives framing the war effort itself – and shows how Putin’s main propagandist uses language to legitimate power and authority during a highly problematic and rapidly changing war campaign.

Constitutional legitimacy of the interim government: Analysis on Bangladesh Perspective

Constitutional legitimacy of the interim government: Analysis on Bangladesh Perspective

Twenty‐First Century Autocrats and Their Followers: A Comparative Inquiry

<p>Leadership and followership have long been considered to be defining features of democratic politics. However, more recently, both conceptual redefinitions and real-world developments have put issues of leadership and followership in regimes from beyond the family of established liberal democracies center-stage. This article looks into the nature of authoritarian leadership and followership from a comparative perspective and in light of theories of democratic political leadership. As the inquiry suggests, the rise and nature of leadership activities in contemporary authoritarian regimes reflects both the turn towards more competitive types of autocracy and the aspiration of many authoritarian powerholders to be seen as democratic. At the same time, some of the most spectacular manifestations of autocratic leadership relate to democratic rather than established authoritarian regimes. While followers of autocratic leaders can control their leaders only to the extent that a regime provides mechanisms of vertical accountability, authoritarian followers, even in established autocracies, are not in all regards less important or powerful than their democratic counterparts. Many authoritarian followers do not just support autocrats, but actively attack and chase non-followers or followers of other leaders, and thus play an independent role in the legitimation or de-legitimation of leaders and regimes.</p>

Does Artificial Intelligence Go beyond the Limits of Religious Authority? An Ethical Review on IslamGPT

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have begun challenging the traditional boundaries of religious authority, historically upheld by scholars and clerics. This study examines IslamGPT, an AI platform designed to provide answers on Islamic teachings, and explores its ethical implications within the context of religious authority. While AI, like IslamGPT, offers convenience in accessing religious knowledge, it raises concerns about accuracy, credibility, and the potential erosion of established religious guidance. This article analyzes the ethical dimensions of utilizing AI for religious purposes, emphasizing the need for guidelines to navigate this emerging landscape. The study finds that reliance on AI for religious advice may blur the lines of legitimate authority, highlighting the necessity of direct verification with religious experts to maintain doctrinal integrity. The paper concludes that while AI can support religious education, its use in delivering authoritative religious decisions must be approached with caution, incorporating human oversight to preserve the sanctity of religious teachings.

Peran Komisi Pemilihan Umum dalam Penetapan Daftar Pemilih Tetap pada Pemilihan Kepala Daerah dan Wakil Kepala Daerah

General elections play an important role in a democratic country like Indonesia, guaranteeing people's sovereignty, government legitimacy and people's sovereignty. regular change of power. The importance of the Permanent Voter List (DPT) lies in the ability of citizens to exercise their right to vote effectively. However, challenges often arise in compiling accurate voter lists, which are critical to the functioning of the democratic process. The General Election Commission (KPU) plays an important role in this process by determining eligible voters, coordinating data collection, and utilizing the Sidalih voter list information system. The KPU also collaborates with regional institutions, ensuring the accuracy of voter lists through cross-checking activities, and designating voting areas, all to maintain the integrity of the election and encourage citizen participation.

Regime Security Threats and African Agency: The Case of Zimbabwe

As the global order shifts toward multipolarity, attention to African agency has grown, focusing on how African nations may benefit from the opportunities created by new development partners and navigate a still unequal international power structure. While African agency is a response to external changes, it is also constrained by African states’ capacity to maintain stable political leadership and domestic order. The need to ensure regime survival leads African political regimes to view external powers as a source of ‘rents’, which implies that agency is more about protecting regime interests than benefiting national development. Using the case of Zimbabwe, this article shows that Zimbabwe’s agency in different post-independence periods was shaped by the Mugabe regime’s security threats and its means of quelling those threats. Due to the regime’s weaknesses in political legitimacy and governance, not only was agency rarely seen to benefit public interests, it also created more challenges for the regime itself. The article concludes that only by maintaining a stable political order and a legitimate government can African states take advantage of, rather than be overwhelmed by, the shifting global order to benefit the interests of the African people.

Elite Perceptions of a China-Led Regional Order in Southeast Asia

How do Southeast Asian states perceive a China-led regional order? To answer this question, we conducted a survey of elites from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries that are “least likely” to acquiesce to a China-led regional order. Our survey indicates that although most elites view China as influential and have a cultural affinity with it, they do not perceive China as having the authority to preside over the regional order. They do not identify with China's political values and the normative order it propounds. Our survey also reveals the salience of ASEAN as the region navigates great power rivalry. We explain these views by drawing from the concept of legitimate authority. Our findings are significant; if China cannot persuade its Southeast Asian neighbours of its right to lead, it will be even harder for China to exercise global leadership.

The mechanisms of personalization

ABSTRACT This article draws on Max Weber’s account of legitimate authority to argue that there are three key mechanisms that drive the personalization of power in political regimes: the mobilization of charisma, the mobilization of legality or formal authority, and the mobilization of informal authority. The mobilization of charisma involves leaders using emotional connections with followers to undermine formal institutional constraints. The mobilization of legality refers to using legal discourses and procedures to expand formal executive powers. The mobilization of informal authority relies on leaders occupying strategic positions in patronage networks to undermine or expand formal authority. Each mechanism allows leaders to escape elite accountability through different means. The article illustrates these mechanisms through historical and contemporary examples. It argues that understanding these distinct mechanisms can help explain variation in trajectories and consequences of personalization across regimes. The framework advances theories of personalization by highlighting how personal power relies not just on disrupting elite coordination but on deploying different forms of authority.

Limitations of trust and legitimacy in blockchain: exploring the effectiveness of decentralisation, immutability and consensus mechanisms in blockchain governance

PurposeThis paper examines to what extent blockchain creates legitimacy and trust in different modes of public governance. It posits that while blockchain aims for political legitimacy through decentralising, immutable and consensus-based mechanisms, the execution of these mechanisms is limited in legitimating governance, which has knock-on effects on trust. It provides an original contribution by recontextualising and reframing blockchain as a governance mechanism that should, and must, perform a legitimating function in order to engender trust.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts a comprehensive framework for understanding the legitimacy of blockchain governance, positioning it in terms of co-governance, self-governance and hierarchical governance modes. It systematically analyses blockchain whitepapers, legislation, government documents and other sources in three paradigmatic case studies where blockchain governance failed. These cases are then used to assess blockchain according to three key characteristics of decentralisation, immutability and consensus.FindingsThe research finds that blockchain’s use in governance settings still relies on legitimacy conferred from other sources – namely state – in order to generate trust. Significant limitations in its de facto political decentralisation, immutability and consensus protocols can create failures in co-governance, self-governance and hierarchical-governance applications, thus limiting the legitimation function of blockchain in facilitating political trust.Originality/valueThese findings are significant in highlighting blockchain’s limitations as a decentralised, immutable and consensus-driven legitimating tool, which has knock-on effects on trust in technology and governance more broadly. It also has broader implications in more clearly highlighting the interconnectedness of political trust and legitimacy in governance processes.

The Effect of Organisational Justice, Academic Identification and Legitimacy of Academic Authorities on Student Loyalty

ABSTRACTOur work contributes to existing research on student loyalty by testing a model that includes organisational justice as a predictor. In Study 1 (n = 257, Polish sample), students' perceived organisational justice of their university was a positive predictor of their loyalty. In Study 2 (n = 522, Polish sample), we replicated these findings and observed that academic identification accounted for the relationship between university's organisational justice and students' loyalty. In Study 3 (n = 500, American sample), we replicated findings from Study 1 and Study 2 and tested perceived legitimacy of university staff and authorities as another mediator of the investigated relationship. We conclude that the experience of organisational fairness at university translates into stronger academic identification and greater perceived university legitimacy, both of which lead to increased loyalty. Thus, we recommend that evaluation tools in higher education institutions more explicitly measure student perceptions of fairness.

CHINA, THE ILLIBERAL COUNTER-ORDER, AND THE ROLE OF VALUES IN THE STRATEGIC RESPONSE

This study examines how the People’s Republic of China’s advance of its economic and other objectives both supports, and benefits from the challenges by illiberal states to the rules-based international order. It argues that one of the most important dynamics of the current international system is how, in the context of interdependence and interaction accelerated by new technologies, the feedback loop between those activities of the PRC, and its international partners, are simultaneously enriching and empowering the PRC, and expanding the space in which such illiberal actors can operate, while also weakening the institutions and rule of law which have created the basis for interdependence, security, and prosperity since the end of the Second World War. This work recognizes the variety of goals of illiberal actors with which the PRC engages for its own benefit, distinguishing the dynamic from the structure of competing “blocks” that characterized the Cold War. This work further looks at the interaction between political and economic systems under stress new technologies, and the role of the state in this transformational period, It argues that the new dynamic is reopening fundamental questions about the relationship between the state, individual, and society, and associated questions about economic and political organization itself is in question. In addressing these challenges, this work concludes that transactional “competition” between Western democracies and their opponents for the loyalties of the rest is not enough. It argues that that Western democracies must both hedge against the coming destabilization of the international system, while leading by example and advancing more compelling arguments in the new context for why societal interests are best served by the protection of individual rights and individual choice as the foundation of government legitimacy, as well as for individual ownership and initiative, rather than government as the principal generator of economic value and technological progress in society.