The Concept of Legitimacy

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 particular system of ruling and what is the status of any specific regime.