Authority and Legitimacy: the State and the Citizen

Authority is power based on a general agreement that a person or group have a right to issue certain types of commands and that those commands should be obeyed. A government is unique in society in that all of its power involves authority and at least potentially there is no limit to the range of activities over which it may exercise authority. Authority is a type of power, but a uniquely efficient one. Ultimately it may be backed up by the use of either coercion or persuasion. The feeling of large numbers of people that the government has the authority, and should have the authority, is called legitimacy of the government. Legitimacy is crucial, and it may be achieved in four ways. One important aspect of democracy is the relationship between the citizen and the state. A democratic citizen should possess the following characteristics: tolerance, active participation, high level of interest and information, and support for the state. A key part in making people function well in a democracy is social capital. The basis for the political behavior of the people is conformed by the political culture of a society. Political culture consists of all attitudes and believes held communally by a people. The values and assumptions people hold about politics are acquired in a process called political socialization.

Four sources of legitimacy exist. Legitimacy by results is the first one. A government may gain and retain legitimacy from its people by providing for them the things they most want: security against physical assault, security of their country's borders against invasion, pride in their nation, and economic security. Another way a government can acquire legitimacy is by habit. Once a government has been around for a while people get accustomed to obeying its laws. There is also legitimacy by historical, religious or ethnic identity. Many governments enhance their legitimacy by the ties that exist between themselves and the people because of the governments' leaders past accomplishments or because of the religious and or ethnic similarity between the government leaders and the people. Finally a state my strengthen the legitimacy of its government by following certain procedures in setting itself up.

A democracy requires citizens that will do more than obey and follow the government. It requires citizens that will have tolerance for diversity. Citizens that will vote in elections, and maintain frequent contact with the government. Citizens that will not only stay active, but also keep themselves informed. Finally a democracy requires its citizens to support the state.

According to Robert Putnam, the necessary ingredient for making democratic governments effective is social capital. Social capital are intricate webs of voluntary involvement in organizations that bind people together and give them the political resources and mutual trust that are needed to make any form of cooperative government work. It is a pattern of community interactions that produces desirable attitudes of efficacy and trust, and that gives people practical experience in persuasion and collective action.

Political culture, or the attitudes and beliefs held communally by a people, is responsible for major differences on how politics is conducted. Political culture is important, but it is hard to evaluate it. It easily falls into stereotyping and generalization. However political culture is too important to ignore. One striking characteristic of political cultures is that they usually change slowly. State and society may change greatly, but the underlying culture stays recognizably the same.

The learning of political values and factual assumptions about politics is called political socialization. The importance of political socialization is that without it political culture would disappear after one generation. The sources by which knowledge on political culture is acquired are called agents of socialization. We learn about politics from many different agents but a few particular important ones are our families, schools, and peer groups.

Authority and legitimacy are two crucial characteristics that a government must possess in order to exist. It is not enough for a government to hold power, its people have to believe that that power pertains to them and that it is legitimate. Authority exists because people believe it exists, and legitimacy exists because it has have been acquired through either results, habit, historical, religious or ethnic identity, or procedures. Aside from obeying and following the government, the citizens of a democracy have to be tolerant, simultaneously informed and active participators, and supportive of the state. The government requires an amalgam of factors to function in order for it to work efficiently, however according to Robert Putnam the necessary ingredient is social capital. All the attitudes and beliefs held communally by a people conform the political culture of a society. In order for the political culture of a society to subsist, political socialization has to take place. New generations must learn the political attitudes and beliefs held by their society, if their political culture is to remain existent.