CFE Higher Politics Political Theory Power, Authority and Legitimacy Definitions and Examples

We are learning to… Define the terms power, authority and legitimacy Give examples of each I can… Create a spider diagram of definitions and examples

Power, Authority, Legitimacy What is Power? What is Authority? What is Legitimacy? POWER Power can be defined as the ability to ‘get someone to do something they might not choose to do’ AUTHORITY Authority is seen as ‘rightful power’ which implies an ‘obligation’ to obey LEGITIMACY The sense of ‘rightfulness’

Power, Authority, Legitimacy Power, Authority and Legitimacy are often used INTERCHANGEABLY However, these are SEPARATE concepts, which are closely linked

Power What is Power? the ability to get someone to do, something they might not otherwise choose to do Power Is the ability to influence others sometimes through use of threats, sanctions, manipulation or persuasion. Example – a mob has the power to lynch someone During the 1950s in the USA, angry white mobs prevented black students entering schools and universities

Authority Authority is the ability to influence others through their respect of your position Example – the decision made by a High Court Judge What is Authority? the ability to get someone to do something because you have the right to Your power comes from Respect of rule or right to rule

Example of Power but No Authority The next day, the police were called and Hitler was arrested after a shoot-out Hitler had the power, but lacked authority = people did not think he had the right to rule https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaPOxJqBEhI Adolf Hitler in November 1923 – the Munich Putsch He marched into a political meeting of the Right Wing with a gun and 600 Stormtroopers He kept the leaders prisoner, including the PM of Bavaria, Gustav Von Kahr

Example of Authority but no Power Aung Sang Suu Kyi In 1990 her party the National League for Democracy won the election in Burma They gained 59% of votes, 80% of parliament seats The military refused to hand over power to her She was placed under house arrest The military continued to rule until 2011 Aung Sang Suu Kyi had authority (the right to rule) but had no power The military had the power to overrule her authority

What is legitimacy? Legitimate = Rightful Legitimacy is what many describe as the ‘right to rule’ It is closely linked to authority i.e. in order to have authority you must be viewed as legitimate Usually legitimacy comes from a ‘fair process’ i.e. an election, a ballot, a contract, an fair interview process It is often a belief that a leader has a right to govern Without legitimacy, a government can collapse

Can you think of any leaders who lack legitimacy? Why?

Power + Authority = Legitimacy I.e. Most people obey rules even if they don’t agree with them. This is because they accept the system of government as legitimate. This LEGITIMATE power is called AUTHORITY Legitimacy Example In May 2011, Alex Salmond’s SNP gained a majority in the Scottish Parliament – 69 of 129 seats. Even though the AMS system was designed to prevent majority governments, they won more than 50% of seats. This gave the SNP government legitimacy, and Alex Salmond legitimacy as First Minister. Power that is seen to be LEGITIMATE is seen as fair & right Therefore coercion (force) is not needed

Example of No Legitimacy However, he had all the powers that Tony Blair (a strong PM) had as PM, So if he has the power why not the Authority? Brown’s unelected inheritance of Blair’s power was seen by many as illegitimate (he ran almost unopposed for labour leader), in that since there was no general election, Brown was not the ‘rightful’ PM. Gordon Brown PM Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1992 – 2007 under Blair Popular chancellor, seen as staid and reliable 10 May 2007, Tony Blair resigned Brown won Labour nomination and became PM Did not call a new election Unpopular Prime Minister – blamed for economic problems Resigned after 3 years

Example of No Legitimacy – Research Theresa May Who is she? What job did she do before PM? Details! When & How she became PM Why people say she has no legitimacy

Lack of Legitimacy in the 21st Century The overwhelming majority of Palestinian people living within Israel’s borders DO NOT ACCEPT ISRAELI AUTHORITY AS LEGITIMATE They instead give legitimacy to the Palestinian Authority which has little real POWER

Power, Authority and Legitimacy Task – Use blank paper to create a detailed spider diagram Include definitions and examples of P, A, L. Power Legitimacy Authority Power, Authority and Legitimacy are inherently linked – however, they are separate concepts, when any of the 3 concepts are lacking issues/problems/conflict can arise.

Media Clips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4TpUmaZFeE