Political Legitimacy Research Articles

The evolution of political power legitimacy conceptions

The concept of the power legitimacy as one of the problems in the field of public administration was first mentioned by the German jurist G. Jellinek of the late 19th - early 20th century, then it was deeply developed in the theory of political domination by M. Weber. Realizing the importance of this issue, scientists from different countries one way or another turned to it and refined its various aspects. This article provides a critical analysis of the basic concepts of the legitimacy of power, based on the contribution to the development of this issue by M. Weber, D. Easton, I. Cerovac, J. Rawls, D. Estlund and J. Habermas. Since the problem of the legitimacy of power is directly related to the maintenance of a democratic regime, the declared concepts are considered in the context of the varieties of democracies for which they were created. The purpose of this study is not only to analyze successive concepts of the legitimacy of political power, but also to identify their relationship with the prevailing ideas about democracy in science and society at the time the concept appeared. The study was carried out within the framework of a systematic approach using general theoretical methods of analysis and synthesis, systematization and classification, as well as the case study method for country analysis.

Political legitimacy in Rawls’ early and late political liberalism – Two diverging interpretations

This article assesses Frank I. Michelman’s constitution-centered and proceduralist interpretation of Rawls’ conception of political legitimacy and argues that it merits attention because it highlights the institutional aspects of Rawls’ understanding of political legitimacy for constitutional democracies. However, the article also questions Michelman’s interpretation of Rawls’ ‘liberal principle of legitimacy’ (LPL) and the later ‘idea of political legitimacy based on the criterion of reciprocity’ (ILBR). As Michelman rightly points out, for the exercise of political power to be legitimate in a constitutional democracy, it must be in accordance with a constitution that is itself legitimate or reasonably acceptable to free and equal citizens. Yet, the article argues that Rawls’ two legitimacy formulations are attempts to make an additional point: Namely that when democratic citizens exercise political power in ‘the fundamental political issues’, or in issues that shape the basic justice of society or the essentials of the constitution itself, they must respect the ideal of public reason – or ensure themselves and other citizens that their exercise of political power is in accordance with the underlying basic political-moral ideas of persons and society that make the constitution itself acceptable to them. The LPL and the ILBR are conceptions of political legitimacy, not in the sense of setting up a criterion for when a specific law is legitimate, but in the sense of outlining civic or “office-specific” constraints that citizens and public officials must put on their reasoning and exercise of political power in the fundamental political issues for the practice of a constitutional democracy to be legitimate, or well-ordered, reasonably just, and stable for the right reasons – in the long run. The article also discusses why Rawls saw the need to reformulate the LPL, and how the later ILBR assigns a new significance to citizens’ actual use of public reason and their intersubjective deliberation.

In the Name of My Father: The Personalization of Government in Nigerian Politics, 1999-2023

The study examines the implications of the roles of class, godfatherism, and personalization of government for Nigeria’s political development and nation-building. The research method employed was the qualitative analytical method which involved content analysis of relevant documentary data on the subject. The approach adopted was also thematic. The research findings indicate that because of the “unending” transition to civil rule, most politicians avoided the transition because they are not certain if the military will hand over power to civilian, and they lacked the money to compete with the political entrepreneurs. These gave room for political entrepreneurs or ‘money bags’ to dominate the transition programme. The principle of party supremacy shortly lost its meaning as campaign organizations took over from party secretariats. And the party’s manifesto or programme lost its meaning to the personal ‘greed’ or ambitions of the political entrepreneurs, who also positioned their children to power through various means, including inheritance of political legacies, strategic alliances, and leveraging financial resources. The attitude of these godfathers impacted negatively on good governance. It also reduces the legitimacy of government and voids the electoral value of the citizens.

Not following the script: When institutional development is uneven

AbstractThree characteristics of developed twenty‐first century countries are high levels of state capacity, democracy, and economic freedom. This article compares countries that lack one of the characteristics with countries that have more even levels of institutional development. Countries which lack democracy use other means to secure political legitimacy, and those without strong states are geographically concentrated in Latin America and eastern Europe. Those without liberalised economic institutions are an idiosyncratic group that have unconventional historical paths. These findings speak to the prospects for development outside the liberal democratic path, the nature of development in the absence of a state, and unexplored determinants of economic freedom.

Climate policy at the International Monetary Fund: No voice for the vulnerable?

AbstractThe climate crisis prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an international lender of last resort, to implement wholesale reforms to incorporate climate policy into its operations. At the IMF, selected countries from the Global North—historically the largest emitters of greenhouse gases—dominate decision‐making. This raises several questions. Can the Fund implement an ambitious and effective climate policy? How are climate‐vulnerable developing countries and their interests represented in everyday decision‐making at the institution? Drawing on scholarship on the political economy and legitimacy of international organizations, we focus on the formal distribution of decision‐making power within the IMF to evaluate the IMF's shift toward climate change. Our empirical analysis of the representation of 57 self‐identifying climate‐vulnerable developing countries (the V20) at the IMF and within its Executive Board shows that these countries, speaking for almost a third of the Fund's membership, command a vote share of merely 5.6%. Our assessment of the Climate Strategy adopted by the IMF amplifies equity concerns over its climate policies and further attests to the disregard of requests by developing countries. Barring meaningful governance reform to increase the voice and representation of climate‐vulnerable developing countries, the IMF's approach to addressing climate change is unlikely to translate into legitimate and effective climate policy.

The Ottomans and International Law: The Russian Annexation of the Crimean Khanate in 1783 in the Light of the Documents from the Ottoman Archives

The Russian annexation of the Crimean Khanate was a severe blow to the Ottomans, since the empire was forced to accept the annexation of an independent polity populated by Muslims without a shot being fired, and against the stipulations of past treaties. While the Crimean population sent delegations to the imperial capital and asked for help, the Ottomans also feared the harm the annexation would inflict on their legitimacy; however, they were aware of their military and financial weakness in the face of the Austro-Russian alliance and could not risk a multi-front war. To handle this difficult situation, the Ottoman government resorted to two strategies: first, it sought an intra-bureaucratic consensus by employing the consultation principle of Islamic governance to allow bureaucratic participation in the decision-making process with unanimous decisions to avoid any criticisms that would trigger a popular backlash and, secondly, legitimizing the government policy by benefiting from the principles of Islamic law and portraying the current situation as a temporary one which would be corrected once the empire gained enough military strength. This article will use primary and secondary sources to show how the Ottoman government navigated this diplomatic crisis while aiming to legitimize its decisions by creatively adapting the principles of Islamic international law (siyar). It will emphasize the interaction between political authority, legitimacy, and Islamic law by discussing how the Ottomans interpreted Islamic law with respect to the termination of treaties and to power asymmetry in war decisions when the empire faced a multi-front war with Russia and Austria.

On 80stalgia: discernments from contemporary Greece

ABSTRACT Nostalgia for the 1980s, or 80stalgia, is a global phenomenon. This article explores the phenomenon in Greece and approaches 80stalgia as a cultural trend that marks media and pop culture. It combines digital ethnography through invisible observation (especially using Facebook, a social medium that favours nostalgic communities) and historicised content analysis to analyse 80stalgia in its interrelation with politics, and approaches it as having been influenced by international nostalgic trends and local politics, especially the political legacy of 1980s governments. Finally, the article discusses why the economic crisis of the 2010s, an experience that triggered self-reflection on the past, strengthened 80stalgia.

Bewildering the legacy effects of Gail Melson’s wild things/animals/children

ABSTRACT This article bewilders dominant discourses about child-animal relations by acknowledging and challenging the work of Gail Melson who positions animals as providing emotional, social and pedagogical support for children. Melson’s psychological approach rests upon implicit assumptions that shape and support anthropocentrism whilst also critiquing a utilitarian approach to animals in educational learning spaces. The legacy effects of this approach are steeped in neoliberal discourse that entangle with pedagogy and practice. Unless modified these effects pass through generations as sticky webs of knowability that are difficult to contest. Research from Australia and Finland, framed by critical posthuman and relational ontologies, unsettles these effects to reconfigure child-animal relations as fluid and situated. ‘Bewildering education’ grants insights into historical political legacies that can be traced in education policy, practice and theory preoccupied with knowledge development, relations and meaning-making around the productive ‘good’ human subject. Child-animal relations expose complex and far-reaching effects of early childhood because processes of becoming and being human with other animals provides spaces for knowing ‘difference’ as a constituting force that disrupts anthropocentric relations with the world. Building a political history of animals that pays attention to agency and ethical relations reconfigures and reconstitutes animal species, not as objects of pedagogical inquiry, but rather as subjects and fellow earth dwellers.

The Political Legacies of Wartime Resistance: How Local Communities in Italy Keep Anti-fascist Sentiments Alive

Can past wartime experiences affect political behavior beyond those who lived through them? We argue that local experiences of armed resistance leave political legacies that “memory entrepreneurs” can translate into contemporary political action via a community-based process of intergenerational transmission consisting of three core activities – memorialization, localization, and mobilization. We empirically substantiate this argument in Italy, where an intense armed resistance movement against Nazi-Fascist forces took place in the 1940s. We combine statistical analysis of original data across Italian municipalities and within-case analysis of a purposively selected locality to show how the past impacts the present via the preservation and activation of collective memories. This study improves our understanding of the processes of long-term transmission, emphasizes armed resistance as a critical source of the long-term political legacies of war, and explores its political effects beyond electoral and party politics.

“Doing the Work of Science”: Tibetan Environmentalists and the Changing Dynamics of Ecological Conservation in China

Abstract In the context of China's “Constructing ecological civilization” initiative, Tibetan environmentalists are proactively incorporating ecological science into their wildlife conservation efforts. This ethnographic study explores the logics, rationales and motivations behind this approach among Tibetans in Qinghai province. The article contends that Tibetan environmentalists adopt ecological science to gain legibility in the eyes of both the state and the wider environmental conservation community, thereby enhancing their political legitimacy and social recognition. On one hand, this practice counters the stigmatizing narratives that depict Tibetan pastoralists as backward. By embracing scientific discourses and practices, they challenge such derogatory views and position themselves as forward-thinking conservationists. On the other hand, this strategy indirectly preserves the traditional knowledge of pastoralists. Through their involvement with ecological science, they merge traditional insights with scientific methodologies, ensuring the protection of their cultural heritage while adapting to the sociopolitical landscape of contemporary conservation dynamics in China.

The Politics of the Status Quo in Sri Lanka

Resistance to political change is a hallmark of Sri Lankan politics since the 1980s. Thus, the polity has been able to sturdily maintain the status quo. Linking contemporary politics with the political legacies of the 1980s, the article argues that by providing continuity to the 1978 constitution, Sri Lanka’s political system has become a hostage to the status quo. This is shown in the analysis of the functioning of democracy, and ethnic conflict and peace-making. The rise of illiberal democracy is traced to the present constitution and the centralizing tendencies of the J.R. Jayewardene regime. While some successive power-crazed leaders have nurtured illiberalism, others have undertaken a limited constitutional reform. Yet, none of them have rejected illiberalism altogether and shown commitment to a liberal constitutional order. Likewise, the debate on political solution is centred on the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution. Both the government and opposition leaders have a shared interest in failing every peace initiative and denying a permanent political solution. Together they form a barrier to comprehensive political reform in the country.

The Tyrants’ Cousins. Ruling Practices and Political Concepts between Anatolia and Early Greece

Summary This paper addresses the vexed question of the origins and nature of archaic Greek tyranny by focusing on the conceptual roots of the phenomenon, namely by investigating the political significance and implications of the Luwian notion of tarrawanni-, ‘just, justice,’ the term from which Greek tyrannos is believed to derive. Firstly, the paper shows how both Neo-Hittite and early Greek societies display a similar attitude towards justice as a key element for political legitimation. After concluding, however, that this commonality is not enough to explain why the Greeks borrowed the concept of tarrawanni- as tyrannos, the paper moves on to examining what specific way of doing politics is captured by the two concepts, arguing that they identify a type of political actor that exercises supreme powers independently of any kind of institutional arrangement. Finally, the paper discusses reasons, modalities, contexts, and timing of the transmission of Luwian tarrawanni- into Greek.

Proletarian Internationalism in the Contemporary Women’s Movement: A Perspective from India

This article discusses the influence of internationalist perspectives on the women’s movement in India. It provides a history of anti-imperialist feminism in general but focuses on some of the major women’s organizations in India. The aim is to trace the legacy of anti-imperialist feminist politics as a response to the strategies of Western imperialist powers to counter the influence of radical and socialist politics, particularly after the Russian Revolution. The article also documents women’s participation in radical and socialist struggles for independence and social transformation, which received strong political support from the Soviet Union in the postwar period and extends the analysis to the period of neoliberalism and the structural adjustment policies imposed on the South.

Wartime service provision and post-conflict state legitimacy: Perception-based foundation of sustainable development in Northwestern Pakistan

Promoting a peaceful environment is integral for socioeconomic reconstruction in conflict-affected societies. However, the absence of violence does not immediately result in national endeavors for development because a post-conflict state often lacks a popular base of state legitimacy owing to the wartime fragmentation of socio-political groups. Implementing a questionnaire survey in northwestern tribal areas in Pakistan, specifically the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, this study explores how and why state legitimacy rises and declines as a result of wartime interactions between political actors and civilians. Empirical analyses of novel survey data reveal that wartime service provision is associated with post-conflict sustainable development regarding the civilian perception of legitimacy of the state. State legitimacy is strongly perceived by civilians who have received public services from the state and weakly by those who have been exposed to rebel services. We further disaggregate wartime service provision to explore the influence of providers and variety/types of services. The results indicate that the provision of a wider variety of wartime services impresses upon civilians’ perceived legitimacy; furthermore, while the delivery of basic and extra services beyond justice and security is associated with state legitimacy, the impact is conditional on service providers. State legitimacy has an important role in political stability and national collectivity needed for post-conflict sustainable development. As wartime civil–military relations persistently influence civilians’ perception of political legitimacy, post-conflict reconstruction needs to take locals’ experiences into consideration so that the development initiatives can be legitimate and sustainable.

State and politics in the transitional era of globalization: Twisting and turning toward authoritarian and hybrid regimes

AbstractBeyond its discontented thesis, globalization has had a difficult time in the last few years, owing to the global financial crises of 2008–2009 when its vacuous premises and promises were widely contested for being an unfair deal. The recent rise of nationalist and populist movements across the West and the East, boosted by the COVID‐19 pandemic, now threatens its survival. However, globalization experts are largely divided in charting its future; while some predict the demise of the existing world order, others believe globalization will continue with some restructuring. By analyzing the global political dynamics and reviewing political and scholarly news and views, we argue that globalization is currently undergoing a transitional era with a new paradox—one characterized by the emergence of a multipolar world but with local identity and tradition‐based politics. The upshot is that the state with the border is re‐emerging alongside authoritarian and hybrid regimes.Related ArticlesKane, John, and Haig Patapan. 2010. “Recovering Justice: Political Legitimacy Reconsidered.” Politics & Policy 38(3): 589–610. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2010.00250.x.Quinn, Adam. 2007. “The Great Illusion: Chimeras of Isolationism and Realism in Post‐Iraq U.S. Foreign Policy.” Politics & Policy 35(3): 522–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2007.00071.x.Zaidi, Syed Muhammad Saad. 2021. “American Global Supremacy Under Threat? The Chinese Factor.” Politics & Policy 49(2): 502–28. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12402.

Liberal legitimacy in global politics: Navigating toleration and cooperation.

Liberal legitimacy in global politics: Navigating toleration and cooperation.

Penal state power in Latin America: Cases, concepts and questions for the political sociology of penality

AbstractExamining penality across different regions and periods of time allows us to develop both a robust empirical imaginary and conceptual understanding of the commonalities and variation in how penal state power operates. In this article I elaborate key dimensions of penality in contemporary Latin America. Since the late 20th century, Latin American countries have undergone economic and political transformations with profound effects for the organization of their societies and the features and implications of penal state power. First, I situate research on penal state practices in Latin American countries within the broader dynamics of violence and social conflict across the region. Second, I review scholarship on the relationship between the features of penal state policies and reform in the region and the transformative, procedural and cultural dimensions of democracy. Third, I describe initiatives to expand state capacities to incarcerate criminalized people at an unprecedented scale and clarify the relationship of carceral administration to social order and political legitimacy across Latin America. I then conclude by elaborating how penality in Latin America contributes to our broader understanding of the relationship between penal power, state authority, and inequality; and I highlight three lines of inquiry for future research.

POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND TYPOLOGY OF RUSSIAN EMIGRATION

The purpose of the research. One of the issues relevant to political history is the study of the political legacy of post-revolutionary Russian emigration. The purpose of the study is a theoretical and legal understanding of the political structure of Russian emigration. This is necessary because scientific research on citizens who left Russia after the revolutionary events of 1917 has not been fully studied and is often presented in a distorted form. The modern development of historical and political knowledge reveals not only the need for a deep comprehension of scientific research on the issues raised by Russian emigration, but also a traceable reception within the framework of the evolution of political changes. Conclusions. As a result of the research, the author believes that addressing the issue of studying the evolution of the political structure of the heritage of Russian emigration is justified and relevant. The role and importance of the cultural and political heritage of Russian emigrants has been evaluated and studied ambiguously by researchers. The analysis of the historiography of the issue, the allocation of periods of political transformation of post-revolutionary emigration made it possible for the author to identify the main characteristics of three periods of the evolution of cultural heritage and the structuring of political institutions in relation to a certain segment of the population, namely, Russian emigration.

Political trust and legitimacy crisis in the age of COVID-19: an assessment of the EndSARS protest in Nigeria

The article examined the manifestations of political trust deficits associated with people's response to policy choices of Nigeria's government during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many other states, the African states and particularly the Nigerian government adopted WHO-recommended containment measures to limit the spread of the virus and the associated catastrophe. These measures included lockdowns, shutdowns, social distancing, and personal hygiene among other preventive procedures. Even though the pandemic was relatively less endemic in Africa, as per official statistics, African states swiftly implemented the WHO containment measures, which impacted negatively on the livelihood of the average household, who depends on daily incomes for survival. The worsening living condition caused by the containment measures expectedly deepened resentment against governments in Africa with already poor records of public service delivery, accountability, transparency, and human rights. Nigeria was one of the African countries that experienced citizens' backlash and violent outrage against government policy choices during the COVID-19. Under the guise fighting police brutality, youths staged mass anti-government protests that transformed into large scale violence, particularly in the southern parts of the country otherwise known as the “EndSARS Protests.” The protests were conceived against police brutality in the enforcement of COVID-19 measures. This article examined the outbreak of EndSARS protests as a transformation of the deepening of political trust deficits in age of COVID-19. It adopted qualitative approach using documentary evidence such as newspaper reports and official documents as instruments of data collection. The Institutional Performance Theory guided the article. The theory assumes that the actual performance of government determines citizens' level of trust and confidence in public institutions. The article found that perennial government inefficiency, limited accountability and transparency as well as poor human rights records of the government and its agencies, particularly the police exacerbated an already existing political trust deficits amongst the people in Nigeria. This was manifested in the outburst of a large-scale violent outrage by the youths as protest to the government containment measures and widespread dysfunctional governmental institutions and particularly police brutality. The article concluded that building trust is particularly important for governments, as this can be achieved through output sense, the provision of public goods, or social support.

Public attitudes towards government’s role in unemployment provision in three East Asian countries

ABSTRACT Public support for unemployment provision is essential to provide political legitimacy for welfare policy arrangements and yet it is understudied in East Asian welfare states. In contrast with the proposed unfavourable attitudes towards welfare among East Asian countries from the developmental/productivist perspectives, the study suggests socio-demographic and ideological differences in public attitudes towards the role of government in unemployment provision within and across Japan, (South) Korea, and Taiwan, which differ in welfare production regime and extent of labour market dualization. Data from the 2016 Role of Government V survey of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) was analysed. Findings revealed lower levels of public support for unemployment provision in large firm-oriented welfare production regimes like Japan and Korea, though in which labour market outsiders such as women, younger people, and unemployed workers were more supportive than their counterparts. Despite cross-national attitudinal differences, higher levels of support were consistently found in the lowest-income groups across three East Asian countries. The study provides new evidence of diverse patterns of welfare attitudes regarding unemployment provision in the East Asian welfare regimes. It also presents the need of (un)employment protection among labour market outsiders and low-income groups within these countries.