Marcus A. Stadelmann - Political Science For Dummies

A successful government has to have its population recognize its legitimacy. If the population recognizes its government as legitimate, it will follow its leaders’ decisions, and no force needs to be used when implementing policies. For example, if a police officer pulls you over for speeding, you recognize his powers of doing so. In other words, you see his use of power as legitimate and will abide by it. Governments can acquire legitimacy in various ways, as I discuss in the following sections.

Legitimacy is the belief that the government’s power over its population is rightful. This results in the exercise of power by a government without having to resort to force. A government that has a high level of legitimacy also has a high level of authority. Its citizens obey laws without having to be forced to.

Certain political structures such as democracy can be helpful when it comes to legitimacy. If a government is chosen through democratic elections, it acquires legitimacy. The voters perceive this government to be based on popular will, and they’re more likely to follow its lead.

A second source of legitimacy are results. If a government is successfully providing its population with what it needs and desires, its legitimacy increases. For example, if a government is successful with its economic policies, providing its people with economic security, its legitimacy increases. The same will happen if a successful war is fought or the country is able to maintain security for its population. However, if a government fails to provide what people need or want, the population will turn against it. It will then lose legitimacy.

History matters when it comes to legitimacy. For example, if a regime has lasted for centuries, as the U.S. or the British governments have, the population is used to it, has a lot of pride in the system, and is more likely to find it legitimate.

Habit can make a difference when it comes to legitimacy. In any society, people will become socialized to find a government legitimate. The acquisition of political beliefs and values is referred to as political socialization and is usually accomplished by the family and parts of government, such as the educational structures (political socialization is discussed in more detail in Chapter 3). If children have been successfully socialized, they will abide by government rules because they believe that their government is legitimate. Later in life, they pass this habit on to their children. Governments that have been around for a long time have citizens who habitually consider it legitimate.

International recognition makes a difference. If a government is recognized by the rest of the world, especially great powers such as the United States and China, as legitimate, its population is less likely to turn against it. Furthermore, legitimate governments can expect international aid in times of an economic or political crisis, which in turn will help maintain legitimacy among its people. For example, a loan by the International Monetary Fund (see Chapter 13) can help governments continue providing basic economic need to their populations. Only countries considered legitimate by the United Nations or other international organizations qualify for this kind of aid. In a nutshell, international legitimacy provides domestic legitimacy.

Religion can be a powerful source of legitimacy. If a government can tie its rule to a predominate religion, it automatically receives legitimacy. During the middle ages, most kings were absolute rulers, holding all political power in their countries. They tied their rule to religion, claiming that they had received the divine right to rule from God. God had installed them onto their throne, and any kind of insubordination or worse move against their authoritarian rule would be a move against God. Today, these types of regimes are rare. Iran is a good example where religion provides the government with legitimacy.

Finally, nationalism, defined as pride in one’s country, can be a source of legitimacy. Often newly created states can receive legitimacy from a person or an event that unified the nation and instilled national pride into a population. A good example is the U.S. after the War of Independence against Great Britain. The country had been split on whether to wage a war of independence against British rule, and many colonists didn’t believe in independence. The new country needed to become legitimate. The first president was war hero George Washington, and his name provided legitimacy to the newly established republic. While colonists may not have liked the new constitution or the leaders of Congress, they wanted to support General Washington. Many other prominent leaders, such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, followed, providing the country and its newly created institutions with legitimacy.

Chapter 2

IN THIS CHAPTER

Discovering what it means to be a traditionalist

Understanding behavioralism

Taking a different approach with post-behavioralism

Creating and comparing political science theories

Checking out historical sociology and rational choice theory

Since its academic beginnings in the late 19th century, three major methodological schools of thought have dominated the discipline of political science; they are traditionalism, behavioralism, and post-behavioralism. This chapter looks at these three schools of thought in detail.

A methodology is a general research strategy used by a political scientist. It dictates how research is undertaken and how results can be interpreted. For example, a methodology determines how data is collected and analyzed.

In addition, political science uses theories to explain behaviors and events. The field of political science deals with three types of theories: grand, medium-range, and narrow-range theory. All of these are also covered in this chapter.

Not surprisingly, political scientists in the late 19th century to the 1940s were more like the historians of the day. They picked similar problems to study and used similar techniques to study them. This methodological period is called traditionalism. When using the traditionalist approach, while researching a problem, political scientists would engage in the following activities: