(INTRO COMP GOV'T) TYPES OF LEGITIMACY

legitimacy

this determines who and what has political power as well as control if the public recognizes the government. Countries that are not recognized by the public and know who has political control and power are referred to as this. This can be secured in a variety of ways but is split into three major categories, by Max Weber, which are Traditional legitimacy, Charismatic legitimacy, Rational-legal legitimacy. In democratic countries.This is further secured by a series of cases such as economic well-being, historical tradition/longevity, charismatic leadership, nationalism/shared political culture, satisfaction with the government's performance/responsiveness

Traditional legitimacy

This is when a government bases their rule on ideological beliefs or tradition. So for example, the King/Queen of england base their rule on tradition while old rulers of the incas based their rule on the belief that they were ancestor of living gods. Ceremonies, elaborate parades, and other stuff help to reinforce this rule. Ideological rule is little practiced today besides in the Middle east where rulers can rule based on their understanding of the Sharia or traditional religious law. This is a type of legitimacy

Charismatic legitimacy

This is when rule is based on the personality of an individual or group. the rule of this type is extremely powerful (an example is Napoleon where people were willing to die for him because of the chaos of past years) but are short lived because they do not survive past the person's life. This is a type of legitimacy

Rational-legal legitimacy

The is when rule is based on law and certain amount of procedures. Strong institution are necessary for this to work but also peoples agreement that the set of laws and procedures of the government are accepted. The public also needs to form an allegiance to the state. These government last through individual leaders. Rules of this are based on two types Common and Code law. This is the most common form of legitimacy but other forms of legitimacy are still important, as powerful people are influential to lawmaking and kings/emperors still exist in some countries still lead by this. This is a type of legitimacy

common law

This is a type of law which is based on tradition,past practies, legal precedents set by the court by the courts through interpretation of statutes, legal legislation, and past rulings. This type of law is common in UK, US, and other countries strongly influenced by the UK. This is part of Rational-legal legitimacy

code law

This is a type of law based on a comprehensive system of written rules or codes of law divided into groups of commercial, civil, and criminal codes. This type of law is common in China, Mexico, Russia and other countries witch ares strongly influenced by the French, German, or Spanish law systems This is part of Rational-legal legitimacy

legitimacy of leaders

In democratic countries, this is secured through fair competitive elections and open participation of politics by citizens. However, if there is a question of fair elections, this will be questioned as well. This is further secured by a series of cases such as economic well-being, historical tradition/longevity, charismatic leadership, nationalism/shared political culture, satisfaction with the government's performance/responsiveness