Authority and Legitimacy

Political legitimacy is sometimes understood as a descriptive concept-one that captures people’s faith in their political institutions and their political leaders (Weber 1964). But the focus here shall be on the normative dimension of legitimate political authority-on what justifies political institutions and the decisions made within them. This chapter will address the following main questions. First, under what conditions does an institution such as a national government have the right-as opposed to merely the power-to rule? And do these same conditions also create a duty to obey the commands of the political authority? Second, does legitimate political authority require democracy? If so, what kind of democracy? And finally, is there something specific about national governments or do problems of legitimacy also arise at the level of global governance institutions?