Dear Survivors by John Burton

Author:John Burton [Burton, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367169312
Google: mbjiygEACAAJ
Goodreads: 48634574
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

Legitimacy in authority roles

Wherever in human societies there is an erosion of authority, where there are management problems that are characterized by resistance, then—by definition—there is a legitimacy problem. In classical and traditional theories authority and leadership were derived from tradition, legality and charisma or some combination of these. In all cases they were concerned with we-they relationships. Legality was defined pragmatically, by reference to recognition and effective control.

There is in social organization, however, a distinction to be made (as I have already suggested) between that which is legal or legitimate and that which is legitimized. Legitimized authority is that which is self-supporting, because it is derived from those over whom it is exercised. There is no implied coercion or manipulation necessary. While there can never be a pure form of legitimization, any more than there can be of any ideal type, it is possible to observe and to make judgements about relative legitimization. There were, as you recall, many authorities represented at the United Nations that were legal, but had little legitimization. Once this distinction is made then a fourth source of authority is revealed; this is role differentiation. Legitimized role differentiation is a familiar concept when applied to labour specialization. It was never applied so directly in relation to political authority and leadership roles. An obvious example of legitimized role differentiation is the part played by the chairperson at the meetings you will be having (I hope) to discuss this letter. It is possible to conceive and to model an inter-active political decision making process that had this legitimized foundation.

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