Showing papers on "Legitimacy published in 1974"

Rejoinder to “Comment” by Jack Citrin: Political Discontent or Ritualism?

Abstract: In 1958 only 22 per cent of the total population felt that they could not “trust the government in Washington to do what is right” all or most of the time. By the fall of 1972 that figure had climbed to 45 per cent. Furthermore, the percentage of eligible voters participating in the 1972 presidential election was the lowest it has been since 1948; crises and scandals have continually plagued the government since the Watergate revelations; and the economic conditions of the country have provoked widespread uncertainty and anxiety among the populace. There is good reason, then, for the intense current interest in attitudes of political disaffection and alienation.Present U.S. conditions demonstrate that political alienation is a phenomenon of fundamental significance in political processes. Feelings of political cynicism and alienation may substantially diminish the willingness of citizens to participate in politics or to support programs directed at resolving the social problems that stimulate discontent. Attitudes of political alienation have likewise been related to public demands for radical political reforms during trying periods of social or economic discontent. Alienation and non-participation, however, go beyond just questions of voluntary compliance with policies or the possibilities for radical change; they strike at a very basic democratic norm. Democratic theory emphasizes voluntary consent as the basis of political obligation and legitimacy. Democratic government assumes—indeed, requires—widespread participation, political equality, the accountability of leaders and protection of the individual citizen's constitutional guarantees. The full attainment of these values is only possible when the relationship between the leaders and the public is based on mutual understanding and reciprocal trust rather than on the use of coercive and arbitrary authority.

The Concept of Legitimacy

Abstract: Stillman offers his own definition of legitimacy; in the course of explication he usefully illuminates the meanings and problems of the concept. He seeks to use the strengths of traditional definitions (which include reference to possession or pursuit of right values) and modern social science (notably Carl Friedrich's) conceptions of legitimacy. He offers the definition: the compatibility of the results of governmental output with the value patterns of the relevant systems, that is, those affected by these results (especially the value pattern of the society, but also of individuals, groups, and other societies). The definition relates legitimacy to the values of the society, but does not hinge it on popular opinion about the government. Taking legitimacy to be a matter of degree rather than of either/or, the definition is held to be empirically useful, that is, to permit "operationalization," building, for example, on some of Lasswell's work. In sum, we are helped in inquiring into what justifies a part...

Rational Legitimacy: A Theory of Political Support

Abstract: This book confronts one of the central questions of political science: how people choose to accept or not to accept particular governments. In contrast to the prevailing view that citizens' decisions about the legitimacy of their governments are strongly conditioned by political culture and socialization and are hence largely non-rational, Ronald Rogowski argues that such decisions may indeed be the product of rational choice.The book proceeds both from recent work in the theory of voting and constitutional choice and from the older tradition of contract theory to postulate that decisions about legitimacy are really choices among alternative regimes. The author suggests that members of a society choose among these alternative regimes on the basis of a knowledge of ethnic and occupational divisions in their society. From these postulates a general theory is derived, which finds expression in numerous testable hypotheses.Originally published in 1974.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Source of authority and the legitimation of leadership in small groups.

Abstract: Previous research concerning a group leader's source of authority has produced ambiguous or marginal results. This study examined the impact of a leader's source of authority upon his task influence, his tenure in office and evaluation of his leadership efforts by group members. Four agents were employed to select the foreman for a mock jury: the group, a task expert external authority, a non-expert external authority and the self. Groups composed of four high school males discussed and decided four negligence cases with the same "stooge" always selected as foreman. Perceived legitimacy predicted evaluation of his leadership efforts and tenure in office, while specific characteristics of the agents of authority provided an explanation for differences in task influence and persuasiveness. The data also illustrate the importance of leader behavior to continuing legitimacy and indicate that groups may consider leadership ability more important than task competence in determining a leader's tenure in office.

Validating a Measure of National Political Legitimacy

Abstract: Although political legitimacy is one of the most significant concepts in use in political science, there have been few attempts to validate measures of it. This report attempts to give evidence for the validity of a variant of a measure of the sense of political legitimacy proposed by Muller. Using various analysis techniques, the validity of this measure is assessed in a random sample of 201 University of Kentucky students. The results of the analysis are taken as evidence for the construct and discriminant validities of the measure and for assuming the truth of a central hypothesis in many theories of legitimacy.

Collective Protest and Legitimacy of Authority: Theory and Research

Abstract: A theory of collective protest is proposed in which distrust and the erosion of the legitimacy of authority are postulated to be a function of frustrations perceived as inequitably imposed and arbitrary. The present study tested the predictions that protest groups would have a significantly lower evaluation of authority, be more willing to participate in violence, and have a greater sense of competence than nonprotest groups. Two separate studies were conducted. The first study compared attitudes of an activist protest group, the Young Socialist Alliance, with two nonprotest groups, an active voter registration group and a nonactive student group at the University of Texas. The second study dealt with the attitudes of the campus activist Mexican-American Youth Organization (MAYO) and a Mexican-American non-MAYO group. The following instruments were administered individually and anonymously: a semantic differential to evaluate traditional and legitimate author ities; a participation questionnaire requestin...

Interest Group Lobbying: Canada and the United States

Abstract: Political theory usually assumes that interest groups play an essential role in democratic polities, provid ing an instrument through which the individual may partici pate to some extent in the making of public policy. Such groups synthesize, express and provide technical and ideological support for collective social demands which provide critical inputs into the political subsystem. Despite these contributions, interest groups are often regarded as both normatively and operationally marginal. Using cross- national survey data on interest group lobbying, the present study shows that group activities are common in two political systems. Regardless of variations in political culture and political structure and despite variations in group legitimacy and the intensity of lobbying, groups play a critical linkage role, bringing into concert the private and public sectors of North American society.

Cultural resistance and religious legitimacy in colonial Algeria

Abstract: Starting from a specific historical example, that of colonial Algeria, the paper seeks to examine religious movements which play a political role. Too often such movements have been viewed either as being only political or as utilising religion simply as a mask. It is argued here that religious movements having apparent political functions benefit (to the extent that they are religious) from being studied in contrast to other non-religious movements having similar or comparable functions in the same society at the same time (or in other societies with which comparison would appear justified). It is only in this way that one can see how the relation between the political and religious fields function. It is also in this way alone that we are able to see at what price (that of the relative autonomy of the religious field) the objective domination and manipulation of the religious by the political comes about. In studying societies which claim to be Islamic, it is particularly important to break with orienta...

Legitimacy and conversion in social change: the case of french missionaries and the northeastern algonkian1

Abstract: Between 1610 and 1750 the Northeastern Algonkian in Maine and the Maritime provinces experienced charismatic political and religious innovations, which were initiated and directed by the French missionaries in the vacuum left by the disintegration of some native social forms. In line with their recognized charismatic authority, the missionaries were able to persuade the Indians to accept new forms of organization and belief and to generate a considerable number of conversions. The legitimacy of the missionaries' domination in Indian affairs, not just their domination per se, played an important role in these changes. The Indians voluntarily accepted the missionaries' introduction of more intensive, external regulation and, through a kind of empiricism analogous to that of science, judged some of their own ideas to be less useful, and therefore inferior, to the new Christian ideas.

On Nasser and His Legacy

Abstract: The purpose of this essay is an examination of some of the fruits of Nasserism, both as a source of particular policies and choices throughout Nasser's political career and as a legacy which impinges upon political choices in post-Nasser Egyptian and Arab politics. While seeking to illuminate the positions and argumentations of the proponents and detractors of the man and his policies, the essay is not intended to arrive at a final and simple judgement concerning Nasserism and its achievements and shortcomings. Given the mixed nature of Nasserism, any such effort is futile and more the domain of legitimate political partisanship and activism rather than that of critical analysis. While the faithful may point to his advocacy of Arab nationalism and his commitment to the welfare of the Egyptian masses, critics are not without an abundance of setbacks to dwell upon: the Yemeni fiasco, which was dubbed Nasser's Vietnam; his many regional quarrels, which consumed his resources and attention; his failure to bring about a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict; the performance of his armies in 1956 and 1967; the failure of his agrarian reform; and his inability to create a durable and viable base of power and legitimacy outside the sheer impact of his charisma. Almost two decades of Nasserist rule did not eradicate the eternal problem of Egyptian poverty and scarcity, and one of his dreams, ambitious in the Egyptian context, of making meat a regular feature of the Egyptian diet, never materialized. It remains a treat for special occassions and holidays. On a different track, his record is equally dismal. As an attempt at ideological change and transformation Nasserism was abortive and the new society that he claimed to be his goal has yet to be built. The feudalistic structure that he inherited may have been weakened, but the cultural bias in favor of class, privilege and status that has always been a part of Egyptian culture is largely intact. New masters have replaced the old, but the masses remain submissive and resigned to their lot. A new generation of officers and technocrats came to power at the expence of landed feudal aristocracy, but the hierarchical vision of the world and the deference toward power and its symbols are still the dominant features of the Egyptian political landscape.1 He flirted with socialism, but in such a context it never really had much of a chance. He tried to undermine tradition, but still had so much reverence for it that his attack did not have sufficient impact and although here and there some dents can be seen, as a whole it is alive and doing quite well. He felt the power of Islamic institutions and values and tried to undermine them in favor of secular schemes, but at best he was only semi-secular himself. In the end, what obtained in Egypt was a compromise between Islamic tradition and Nasserist ideology. An equipoise was arrived at, and Nasser and his leading intellectuals could point to their socialist blueprint as a synthesis of socialism, Islam, and Arab nationalism. An insightful study by Morroe Berger found no serious opposition to Islam on the part of the regime but an attempt to use it 'to buttress nationalism, socialism, and the one-party popular democracy'.2 Quite suggestive indeed is Berger's further assertion that the conditions in Nasser's Egypt may have enhanced rather than weakened the position of religion: 'In such conditions of rapid political change, stress, unachieved goals and denial of Review article

Human Rights and Amnesty International

Abstract: This is a descriptive, analytical treatment of international human-rights nongovernmental organizations. A typology of human-rights groups is developed. Threats to human and political rights are analyzed. Following a brief description of Amnesty International as a new type of noneconomic interest group in world politics, the article focuses explicitly on three practical political— yet, also, social—scientific—problems: (1) the legitimacy of human-rights organizations; (2) the selection of targets and of tactics, including prepolitical resource-generating tactics; and, especially, (3) the problems entailed in evaluating the impact, if any, of interest group activities. The last, which questions the efficiency of translation of activity into access and then influence, opens up another discrete question: whether and how the group evaluates its own goals, structure and tactics. This evaluation suggests that Amnesty International has meas urable impact on the defense of human and political rights.

Who Should Control the Schools

Abstract: In many contemporary societies, the legitimacy of traditional sources of authority is the subject of controversy. The consequent re‐examination of the public policy‐making process has not surprisingly been extended to include the field of education, where diverse social groups seek to exert an influence on decisions. A major problem is the development and application of principles for the determination of legitimate, democratic authority. In this article, the principles adopted are those propounded by the prominent political theorist, Robert Dahl, who postulates three criteria: the Criterion of Personal Choice, the Criterion of Competence, and the Criterion of Economy. Some of the current claims of teachers' organizations to an increased influence in the control of education policy making are assessed in the light of Dahl's criteria and the rival claims of alternative, non‐professional groups are weighed against them. It is emphasised that in a democracy the allocation of authority requires a balancing of both ethical and empirical judgments.

The Chicano Experience with Nativism in Public Administration

Abstract: Under provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, various programs to improve the socioeconomic status of minorities have been implemented over the past decade. In the public sector, the legitimacy and effectiveness of these programs have been seriously questioned by minority communities, as well as by civil rights leaders. This concern has been reinforced by government publications studying these quality of life and related administrative issues. In reviewing state and local government programs generally, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission in 1969 concluded that:

The open society in theory and practice

Abstract: 1. Preliminary Reflections on the Open Society: Bergson, Popper, Voegelin.- 2. Political Obligation and the Open Society.- 3. Political Society and the Open Society: Bergsonian Views.- 4. The Open World and Culture Change: Sacred and Secular Trends.- 5. Visions and Explanations, Four Perspectives on Education and Work.- 6. Some Views of the Closed Society.- 7. Authoritarian Regimes - Developing Open Societies?.- 8. Liberalism and the Open Society.- 9. The Liberal Theory of the Open Society.- 10. Imperfect Legitimacy.- 11. The Revolt Against the Open Society and the Phenomenon of Delegitimization: The Case of the American New Left.- 12. Marxism and the Open Society.- 13. Ideology, Openness and Freedom.- 14. The Higher Reaches of the Lower Orders: A Critique of the Theories of B. F. Skinner.- 15. Psychiatric Responsibility in the Open Society.- 16. Neither Sticks Nor Stones.- 17. The Ecology of Openness.

Commitment of Audience, and Legitimacy and Attitudinal Stance of Communicator: A Test of the “Woodwork” Hypothesis

Abstract: St4mnary.-Based upon an analysis of anecdotal evidence in social reality, a laboratory experiment was carried out in which were varied: one's prior commiunent to consonant behavior and the legitimacy and attitudinal stance (agreedisagree) of a communicator Legitimacy of a communicator was defined as independent of his prestige, sincerity, and personal attractiveness, and limited to his qualifications to speak on a specific issue. A variety of measures were taken to define Ss' perceptions of legitimate and illegitimate communicators. Legitimacy tended not to affect uncommitted Ss. Committed Ss responded positively to the legitimate communicator and negatively (boomerang) to the illegitimate speaker, regarding artitude change, behavioroid measures, and information-seeking, regardless of the actitudinal stance of the communicator.

Political Theory, Personal Knowledge, and Public Truth

Abstract: THE ENTERPRISE OF POLITICAL THEORY has traditionally been engaged in the elucidation of "public truths." As such, it is a dependent undertaking precisely because it derives its legitimacy as a discipline by operating within a given framework of analysis which specifies the character of truth's public nature.1 For example, Greek political theory, understood as a practical or ethical science,2 presupposed the prior validity of the Classical "noetic experience."3 The symbolizations of this experience varied. One may examine the Platonic categories of dianoia (thinking) and noesis (knowing)4 or the Aristotelean assumption that it is intuition rather than dem-

Politics of Economic Decisionmaking during the Bhutto Period

Abstract: M y purpose in this article is not simply to describe the economic policies adopted by the leadership in Pakistan, nor even to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the impact on Pakistan's economy of a series of measures taken in the last three years by the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto regime A detailed description of these measures and an equally elaborate analysis of their impact would be very useful in understanding the emergence of what we in this symposium have called the New Pakistan This notwithstanding, in this paper I will address myself to a different set of issues I will, for instance, use the government's economic policies for analyzing and understanding the new political elites' perception of its constituency In other words I will present here the hypothesis that the initiation of economic reforms is to a considerable extent a function of the perceived need of the elite for political legitimacy The principal purpose of this paper is therefore to offer a set of hypotheses that would explain not only the economic policies adopted in Pakistan by the new elite but also by the elites' that it has succeeded A fuller justification of these hypotheses would require a work much longer than a journal article I will therefore confine my attention mostly to the 19711974 period This article is divided into four sections The first deals with the issues of the elite's perception of its constituency and its ability to design policies for effectively meeting the needs of the constituents In this section I will place considerable emphasis on the reasons for the failure of regimes to match policies with the aspirations of their constituents There would be greater political stability in the developing countries if a perfect fit between government policies and demand for government action could be readily obtained The concepts developed will then be used in the second section to achieve a better understanding of Pakistan's economic history We will see that for the purpose of analysis it is convenient to divide the country's 27 year history into five fairly distinct periods In the third section I will describe

Continuity and Motivation in the Vietnamese Revolution: New Light from the 1930's

Abstract: THROUGHOUT THE LONG AGONY of the Vietnam War few issues have been so bitterly debated as the legitimacy of the Vietnamese Communist Party. The question has often been argued in terms of "nationalism" and the Vietnamese Communists' right to be regarded as advocates and practitioners of that concept.1 At other times, the issue of legitimacy has been approached in terms of chronological judgment: at what point, it has been asked, did the Communists emerge as the most active and capable political grouping in Vietnam?2 As a matter for emotion-charged political discussion the question of legitimacy is not subject to easy resolution through academic argument. Scholars, no less than others, hold political opinions and inject these into their debates, often appearing to be unaware of what they are doing.3 Whatever the problems of bias and emotion associated with any discussion of legitimacy, a notable feature of recent research into the nature of Vietnamese anti-colonial, and subsequently revolutionary action has been the extent to which scholarship has revealed a remarkable continuity of purpose. From the earliest days of the French colonial presence in Vietnam there was sustained, if irregular resistance to the alien power.4 Arguments persist as to the terminology that should be used to describe this nineteenth

Political Community, Legitimacy and Discrimination

Abstract: Relating the notion of political community to those of discrimination and legitimacy — and, consequently, setting up a typology which will contrast communities by the criteria they use to distinguish members from non-members and by the location they give to legitimacy, placed either in a ruler or in a process — will be made easier if we consider first of all certain striking similarities which exist between the most private of social groups, the family, and the most public, the state, similarities which probably facilitate the transfer of the ideological constructs formed in infancy and childhood into the political expectancies and assumptions of adulthood. Let us distinguish communities defined through the brothers from communities defined through the father: communities centered around a leader from those centered on themselves. These contrasts will suggest to us a natural/ artificial continuum along which political communities can be ranked, those most resembling the family in their ideas about legitimate authority and legitimate membership being closer to the ‘natural’ end of the continuum. I will explain later the reasons for this distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’, but I must at the outset make it absolutely clear that the use of these terms does not in any way imply an evaluative preference on my part.

Legitimate Power and Illegitimate Revolution: A Third-World Dilemma

Abstract: "Rebellion arises equally from objective and subjective conditions. The rebel perceives an imbalance in the allocation of resources or access to power, and is outraged to find that imbalance sanctified by a definition of himself as unworthy of or, more subtly, as unready for those resources or power. Relative scarcity and racist justification are thus conjoined in the rebellious upheavals of the Third World." Yet both the advantaged and disadvantaged are socialized to accept the legitimacy of the status quo. According to the author, the truly committed social or behavioral scientist must become aware of the contradictions evident in the theories he has been trained to believe in and the concrete social conditions of oppressed people. He must lead the way in rethinking the concepts of Authority and Equality for man. He must build new "conceptual mansions" that will transform Man and bring about a new Society of useful individuals and nurturing institutions.

Theory and Practice of Public Participation in Planning

Abstract: Communications, sociology and social psychology, and political science provide the principal theoretical base for public participation programs. Planners more readily accept improved communications than the other disciplines as a starting point for public participation program development. Techniques used to involve the public include workshops, forums, familiarization tours, brochures, opinion surveys, pro and con sheets, participation scorecards, briefings, and modified public hearings. In general, the successes have been impressive and rather easy to obtain. Failures have not necessarily been permanent and do not necessarily cast doubt on the theoretical base. Primary contributions of communications theory are two-way communication, multistep flow, and multiple entry into the system. Contributions of sociology and social psychology are the notion that planning is a social process, the concept of perception, and the concepts of trust, legitimacy, and rapport. Political science contributes the categorization of political systems into democratic and elitist structures and orderliness and conformance with law and principle.

Black and white liberation

Abstract: Some time ago the department of missiology received a position paper from Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation dealing with "The Churches and Change in Southern Africa". This paper has been an incentive to this review of some (Third World) Christian Literature on Southern Africa, and more particularly on the subject of violence/nonviolence.Chapter 1 deals with the general question "What is violence?" and with the legitimacy of the use of power. Chapter 2 gives an account of the various (violent or nonviolent) ways that people within or outside these Southern African countries are propagating or practising in their struggle to combat violence.

Evaluations of Legitimacy

Abstract: according to thc occupational prestige scale developed by Broom and his colleagues (Broom et al, 1968). The six point scale was collapsed to three categories. Thc ‘track/ stream’ position measure was derived from a classification of the eleven fourth ycar classes, cach of which was labelled (implicitly if not explicitly) as being ’academic’, ’less acadcmic’ or ’non academic’. One ’academic’ class, distinguishcd within thc school as a ’top stream’ class, has been categorised as ’elite academic’. The remaining six ’academic’ classes form an ’other academic’ category. Three ’less academic’ classes form one category, and the one ’non academic’ class constitutes a category of its own. ’Evaluations of legitimacy’ were indicated by responses to three qucstionnaire items designed to measure evaluations of legitimacy of thc class structure, from a study carried out by Julienne Ford (1969). There were five response categories but here these