Political Legitimacy and the State

ISBN-13: 9780198274957 / Angielski / Twarda / 1990 / 224 str.

Barker, Rodney

Opis

Governments and their supporters attempt to justify their power by arguing for their moral, rightful, or predestined claim to authority. Political Legitimacy and the State examines the accounts that have been given of legitimacy, proposing that legitimation should be studied as a form of political activity in its own right. Drawing on recent historical examples, Barker argues for a more diversified understanding of the function and character of political legitimacy, suggesting that rulers are often far more concerned about legitimating their power than are those whom they govern.

Recenzje

'provocative book ... Barker has done much to reinstate the concept of legitimacy at the heart of state theory' Bob Jessop, Lancaster University, Sociology, February 1992