The Legitimation of Power (Issues in Political Theory)

In this important and original book, David Beetham offers an analysis of legitimacy that departs radically from the accounts given by most social scientists since Max Weber. The first part examines the nature of power relations, including class and gender relations, and argues that legitimacy is not just a matter of subjective acquiescence or belief, but has a normative structure which must be investigated by any theory which aims to explain and predict. The second part uses the analysis of legitimacy thus developed to throw new light on the dilemmas of the contemporary state and of different political systems. It examines the failure of the communist model and of liberal democracy outside its capitalist heartlands, and assesses the attempts of regimes in the Middle East to derive a religious legitimation from Islam. The breakdown of legitimacy in revolution and coup d’etat, the author argues, not only underlines the significance of legitimacy for the contemporary state; it also raises the question of whether the different legitimating principles examined can be treated as qualitatively equivalent. A concluding chapter explains why the conventional separation between normative philosophy and empirical social science in the study of legitimacy is untenable. This systematic and comprehensive work convincingly demonstrates the importance of theoretical analysis to an understanding of key contemporary issues. It will be of interest to students of sociology, political science and philosophy alike. David Beetham's book explores the legitimation of power both as an issue in political and social science theory and in relation to the legitimacy of contemporary political systems including its breakdown in revolution. 'An admirable text which is far reaching in its scope and extraordinary in the clarity with which it covers a wide range of material... One can have nothing but the highest regard for this volume.' - David Held, Times Higher Education Supplement ;'Beetham has produced a study bound to revolutionize sociological thinking and teaching... Seminal and profoundly original... Beetham's book should become the obligitory reading for every teacher and practitioner of social science.' - Zygmunt Bauman, Sociology David Beetham's book explores the legitimation of power both as an issue in political and social science theory and in relation to the legitimacy of contemporary political systems including its breakdown in revolution. 'An admirable text which is far reaching in its scope and extraordinary in the clarity with which it covers a wide range of material...One xan have nothing but the highest regard for this volume.' - David Held, Times Higher Education Supplement ;'Beetham has produced a study bound to revolutionize sociological thinking and teaching...Seminal and profoundly original...Beetham's book should become the obligitory reading for every teacher and practitioner of social science.' - Zygmunt Bauman, Sociology Political theory has undergone a remarkable development in recent years. A systematic study of legitimacy within social science, the book starts as a critique of Weber and examines the link between a social-scientific approach and the various philosophical traditions of theorizing about legitimacy.