We argue that sustained economic development is a source of normative political legitimacy for poor states. On the foundational level, we defend restricted instrumentalism: the primary source of legitimacy in poor countries is the ability of regimes to achieve valuable outcomes. On the practical level, we argue that economic growth and enhanced state capacity are sources of legitimacy. Moreover, drawing on empirical evidence, we defend three heuristics: regimes with successful developmental records, high popular support and responsive institutions presumptively enjoy legitimacy. We illustrate the approach with reference to China.
Brinkmann et al. (2026) studied this question.
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