Legitimacy and Politics: A Contribution to the Study of Political Right and Political Responsibility

ISBN-13: 9780521787826 / Angielski / Miękka / 2002 / 288 str.

Jean-Marc Coicaud

Opis

Instances of corruption, extremism, and public distrust have increasingly raised the question of political legitimacy in recent years. The author examines the issue by looking at the conditions necessary for a "rule of law" to exist. He argues that in a democracy the greater the powers given to a political leader, the greater that leader's responsibilities toward society. In order to enjoy legitimacy therefore, our rulers must assume these responsibilities and be held accountable for them. This book will be of interest to political and social theorists and political philosophers.

Spis treści

1. What is political legitimacy?; 2. Controversies around political legitimacy; 3. Modernity, rationality of the social sciences and legitimacy; 4. Social sciences, historicity and truth; 5. Study of politics, relation to history and de jure judgment; 6. Community experience, dynamic of possibilities and political legitimacy.