Types of Legitimacy
Numinous legitimacy: The dominion of a godking of which ancient Egypt offers the best example, is the theological doctrine according to which every Pharoah is himself (among other things) the god Horus, son of Osiris. The doctrine seems to go back to the very origin of the empire. The Christian priesthood derived its legitimacy and still does from a source very similar to that of the kingship; according to official doctrine the Papal office is based on Christ’s designation of St. Peter, which continues to sanctify and legitimize the rule of every successive pope.
Civil ligitimacy: Civil legitimacy exists when a system of government is based on agreement between equally autonomous constituents who have combined to cooperate towards some common good. Every modern constitutional system or every system of representational government is founded either on a basic agreement to follow certain rules or at least on a justifiable assumption that a basic agreement to follow certain rules exists. Modern constitutional government makes one characteristic of civil legitimacy particularly clear: Governmental offices are ordered by trust rather than exercised by dominion. This is expressed in the institution of public elections.
Sources of legitimacy
Weber’s Three Sources
The German economist and sociologist Max Weber argued that there are three forms of legitimacy, and that all human societies, across history, have been based on them.
- Charismatic authority. Legitimacy based on the charisma of the leader, often partly based on the perception that this leader has certain extra or supernatural attributes. Example: a tribal chieftain or a religious leader.
- Traditional authority. Legitimacy based on tradition; e.g., people accept the government for the simple fact that it has been around for so long and is based on popular customs and usages. Example: a monarchy.
- Rational/legal authority. Legitimacy based on the perception that a government’s powers are derived from set procedures, principles, and laws which are often complex and are written down as part of the constitution. Example: representative democracy or bureaucrats.
Weber like the British Philosopher Thomas Hobbes, had an extremely negative and pessimistic view of human nature, and believed that societies often went through cycles. Weber did not see democracy as being necessary for legitimacy, as a government could be legitimized through laws and principles not established by a vote. Weber also claimed that it is perfectly possible for a modern society to revert back and become a follower of a brutal form of charismatic leadership, a phenomenon which later occurred in his home country of Germany under Adolf Hitler and which was also witnessed in other parts of the world, such as Mussolini’s Italy.
French political scientist and social thinker Mattei Dogan offers a more contemporary conception of this typology of legitimacy. While Weber’s typology (traditional/charismatic/legal-rational) was seminal throughout the previous centuries, Dogan argues that it is insufficient to cover the complex relationships between legitimacy and political systems. In fact, in Dogan’s view, the first two types (traditional and charismatic) are today obsolete. The most recent example of charismatic legitimacy dates back to Khomeini. Dogan believes that traditional authority has disappeared completely, with the exception of two or three regimes in the Middle East (like Saudi Arabia). The third type called rational-legal is, in Dogan’s view, an amalgamation of many varieties, to such a degree that they no longer constitute a “type.”