Consensus, Manipulation, Violence, Force
The Continuum of Legitimacy Creation
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
A political order is considered legitimate when the citizens recognize it and are willing to follow the rulers’ decisions. This readiness is usually understood as the result of a conscientious and free choice. This is by no means always the case. Such readiness can also stem from violence, force, or terror. Authoritarian systems today draw on other methods. Practices of exerting power, such as influence, imitation, and manipulation, in addition to the means of power at the disposal of rulers via the central state apparatus, such as the education system, the media, or the army, play a central role in reproducing and their hegemony and achieving legitimacy.
(Osteuropa 8/2014, pp. 131–159)