BAQ110_Political Science-I(English)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 95 UNIT 7 POWER, AUTHORITY AND LEGITIMACY Structure: 7.0 Learning Objectives 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Meaning and Definitions of Power 7.3 Components of Power 7.4 Characteristics of Power 7.5 Bases of Power 7.6 Detection of Power Relations 7.7 Forms of Power 7.8 Perspectives of Power 7.9 Factors Influencing the Power 7.10 Theories of Power 7.11 Meaning and Definitions of Authority 7.12 Development of Concept 7.13 Features of Authority 7.14 Characteristics of Authority 7.15 Different Dimensions of Authority 7.16 Kinds of Authority 7.17 Relationship between Power and Authority CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

96 Political Science – I 7.18 Meaning and Definition of Legitimacy 7.19 Types of Legitimacy 7.20 Forms of Legitimacy 7.21 Legitimacy: A Historical View 7.22 Political Legitimacy and Authority 7.23 Legitimacy and Effectiveness 7.24 Legitimacy and Charismatic Leadership 7.25 Legitimacy and Ideology 7.26 Legitimacy and Different Political Systems 7.27 Crisis of Legitimacy 7.28 Summary 7.29 Key Words/Abbreviations 7.30 Learning Activity 7.31 Unit End Questions (MCQ and Descriptive) 7.32 References 7.0 Learning Objectives After studying this unit, you will be able to:  Explain the meaning and characteristics of Power  Discuss the bases of Power, forms of Power,  Explain the different Theories of Political Power  Describe the meaning and Characteristics of Authority  Discuss the Sources of Authority and types of Authority CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 97  Relationship between Power and Authority  Meaning, Characteristic and Types of Legitimacy 7.1 Introduction Power, Authority and Legitimacy constitute the basic concepts of Political Science. The concept of Power is one of the most vital concept in Political Science. Power is the pivot of all political activities. Power is the ability to influence the behaviour of other in accordance with its own ends. Power exists at different levels in society and there are few who exercise power over the rest. Political Scientists have given different theories about distribution of political power. Authority as a concept is found out in all spheres of human life i.e. social and political. Without authority, it is difficult to carry the human organisation. Generally, the Legitimized power is called as authority. Authority is the capacity, innate or acquired for exercising ascendancy over a group. Legitimacy is a key element in understanding why people obey their government and their authorities. It also implies the right to rule. A government is Legitimate if the people obey it out of trust and application. 7.2 Meaning and Definitions of Power Power is defined by different scholars from different dimensions. Edward Shills, “Power is the ability to influence the behaviour of others in accordance with its own ends.” Karl Deutsch, “Power without will cannot be effective. When one enjoys power one can influence the behaviour of others.” Lasswell and Kaplan, “Define power as a form of influence. They also say that “Power is the process of affecting policies of others with the help of (......threatened) severe deprivations for nonconformity with the policies intended.” CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

98 Political Science – I Max Weber defines Power as “Chance of a man or of a number of men to realise their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action”. Schulze says, ‘Power denotes the capacity or potential of persons in certain statuses to set conditions, make decisions, and or take actions which are determinative for the existence of others within a given social system’. Friedrich defines power as “a certain kind of human relationship.” Robart Dahl says, “A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do” This means that ‘A’s power can be known from the fact that he can make B do something which the latter does not like. It A can force B to accept or do something against his desire, then A is more powerful than B. Despite all these definitions social scientists have not yet been able to formulate a precise and widely accepted operational definition of power. It is customary to say that this or that person or group has “power”. The implication is that power, like wealth, is a possession which enables its owners to secure more apparent future wellbeing. For a power relation to exist there must be conflict of interests of values between two or more persons or groups. Secondly, a power relationship exists if a particular individual bows to the wishes of the other. Thirdly, a power relationship can exist only if one of the parties can threaten to invoke sanctions. 7.3 Components of Power In their book entitled “Bases of Social Power”, J.R.P. French, Jr. and B. Raven identify five types of power. They are as follows: (i) Coercive power: Which is bassd upon the follower’s belief that the leader has the power to punish him for non-compliance. (ii) Legitimate power: Which is based upon the follower’s belief that the power holder has the right to influence him and he has an obligation to power. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 99 (iii) Reward Power: Which implies the follower’s belief that the leader has resources to assist the follower in reaching his goals and fulfilling his needs. Political patronge is a common example of this category of power. (iv) Referent power: Which means the follower does as the leader wants him to do, because the former is identified with the latter. (v) Expert power: Which implies that the leader can modify the behaviour of the follower. The followers believe that the leader possesses superior information and ability. The manipulation of information is itself a source of power. 7.4 Characteristics of Power Political power has the following characteristics: (a) Power is relational: That means it establishes a relationship between those who exercise it and on whom power is exercised. It is exercised within the limits of state and its institutions. It is based on the power of state authority and state is the most powerful agency to use political power. Power changes with the changes in the working of social processes. (b) Power is situational: Political power is related to situations. The power-holder always thinks that he can do and undo everything what he likes. Power is always checked by lower. It is also limited by the personal characteristics of the power holder and the situations. (c) Power is related to position and circumstances: Power is dependent upon circumstances. A person holding power may not possess it with the change in situation. Power is also related to its use. Unless used power loses its meaning and vitality. (d) Power is behvaioural: It consists in an inter-relation between actors. For example, a person has a bank deposit of ` 50 lakhs while another person is a literary genius then who shall be more powerful? If the activity of these two persons will be known in terms of their respective behaviour is taken as the basis of one's assessment. If the behavioural CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

100 Political Science – I consequences of money and literary talents are compared then one can make a comparative assessment of the power of these two actors. 7.5 Bases of Power There are four different bases of political power: (i) Wealth: Wealth is considered a vital base of power. This wealth basis of power is found particularly in capitalist societies. (ii) Control over means: Control over the instruments of violence is the basis of power. This base of power is found in military states. (iii) Skill: Personal skill or technique is another basis of power. A skilled person is more powerful and resourceful than an ordinary individual. (iv) Power: It is also another base of power. Power over one issue area helps in its extension to other issue areas. 7.6 Detection of Power Relations Robert A. Dahl in his ‘Modern Political Analysis’ has discussed four different means of detecting power-relations in a particular situation, these are:— office, observations of well-placed judges, analysis of the decision making process and comparison of the activities of participants in the decision-making process: (i) Office: First of all power can be measured, by relating it to an office. Power operates within the framework of a formal office. A person who occupies an important office is regarded powerful and those occupy no office are termed powerless. In this method it is easier to measure power. But, there are king-makers who are supposed to be more powerful than kings. (ii) Observation of well-placed judges: Power can be measured from the record of observations of well-placed judges who have the opportunity to remain in close contact with formal office holders. This technique is inadequate as it is possible to evolve a reliable criterion for selecting these well placed observers. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 101 (iii) Analysis of actual decision making process: The analysis of actual decision-making process shows what people actually do and what is the nature and level of their participation. One who is most influential in the decision-making process is the most powerful. Mere participation in the decision-making process cannot be taken as at index of power. The executive and his personal secretary both participate in the decision- making process but the power of both of them is clearly different. (iv) Comparison of the activities of participants in the decision-making process: Mere participation in the decision-making process is no guarantee to measure power, so the activities of different participants in the decision- making process must be weighed to give a judgement about the nature and extent of power. This method is defective for it is difficult to find out the relative power of two participants of which one initiates a proposal and gets it passed while the other gets it adopted in the face of stiff opposition. Thus, the above four methods of detecting power-relations are defective in some respect. So for proper measuring of power relations one has to examine its weight domain and scope weight refers to the degree of participation in the decision-making process, domain means the number of persons upon whom power is exercised and scope means the values at stake. The combination of all these can measure power-relations accurately. 7.7 Forms of Power Power can he classified into the following forms: (a) Legitimate and Illegitimate power: The power used in a lawful manner is called legitimate power. People obey it because of his authority. This type of power is exercised by bureaucracy, police, ministers, etc. Violation of legitimate power is an offence. Illegitimate power is based not on legitimacy buion use of force. The power of a terrorist, a dacoit or an under world Mafia Don, is called illegitimate power. Those who obey it do so in fear of punishment. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

102 Political Science – I (b) Traditional power: This type of power is based on tradition. it has its source in past customs and traditions people obey it because others have been obeying it since long. It has no legal sanction. (c) Charismatic power: It is linked with one’s personality, character and extra-ordinary qualities. A charismatic power has no legal authority but people obey it out of love and emotion. (d) Centralised and Decentralised power: Centralised power means power exercised by the central authority. It is found in a unitary state or in a totalitarian an system. Decentralised power means devolution administrative power to the provinces and local units. The distribution of power between executive legislature and judiciary is an example of decentralised power. (e) Manifest and latent power: Manifest power means the power exercised in open and clearly visible to others. The power of the police, District magistrate and other legitimate authority is called manifest power. But, latent power is the inherent power in a man or in an organisation which is not seen. The power of a voter is latent. (f) Economic power: This type of power is exercised by rich and prosperous countries groups and companies over weaker counterparts. USA is an economic power among nations, the TATA Group of companies and the Reliance Group of companies in India are known as economic power. (g) Political power: This power is enjoyed by the party-leaders in a communist country, the prime minister in parliamentary system and President in a presidential system. (h) Military power: It means the military strength of a country. It is the sum-total of the arms and ammunition possessed by the country, the skilled soldiers advanced nuclear technology and morale of the soldiers. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 103 7.8 Perspectives of Power Power has been viewed differently by different theorists. Two opposite perspectives on power are functionalist and Marxist which are explained below: The Functionalist Perspective Max Weber suggests that those who hold power do so at the expense of others. He also implies that the power-holders rise their power to further their own interests. Talcott Parsons, the functionalist, does not agree with this view of power. He does not think that power is held by some at the expenses of others. He regards power as something possessed by society as a whole. He says, power is ‘generalised facility or resource in the society’, it is the capacity to mobilise the resource of the society for the attainment of goals for which a general public commitment has been made. Hence, the amount of power in society corresponds to the realisation of collective goals. It means the more efficient the society is in realising collective goals, the more power exists in the society. It implies that in the society the amount of power, far from being fixed, is variable. Therefore, this view is known as a ‘variable-sum’ concept of power. The Marxian Perspective Karl Marx rejects the view that power is a social resource, and that it is held in trust, and used by those in authority for the benefit of all. On the contrary, power is exercised by a group in society at the expense of the rest in society. This is a constant sum concept of power since a net gain in power of the dominant group represents a net loss in power of the rest of the society. To Marx, the source of power lies in the economic structure. Those who own the means of production are dominant, and it is illegitimate for them to use power to exploit others. 7.9 Factors Influencing the Power Power is influenced by several factors, Firstly, there are a number of power resources, such as social status, economic condition, official position, physical power etc. In the caste society of India, a higher caste man, enjoying superior status, is normally more powerful than a lower coste man. In the USA and South Africa, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

104 Political Science – I the Blacks have a weaker position than the whites. In Sri Lanka, the Tamils complain that the Simhalis enjoy more power than them. Secondly, it a man holds an office either in a governmental or in a private organisation, he is powerful. The higher he is placed in the organisational hierarchy, the more powerful he is, and vice-versa. For example, in the secretarial administration, the secretary of a Government Department is much more powerful than a section officer and a section officer is more powerful than an ordinary clerk. Similarly, there is power gradation and power inequality in any private sector may be, bank or on industry or a business concern. Thirdly, economy condition also significantly determines one’s power potential. Karl Marx says that ownership of the means of production is the determinant of power. Opinions would differs on Marx’s materialistic interpretation of history, beet hardly would anybody dispute the fact that one’s power potential is to a marked extent, shaped by his economic background. Fourthly, another power resource is physical force. In ancient days the status and influence of a king was determined by his performance in the battle field. Now-a-days, in a number of countries afflicted by civil wars the power of rival groups depends on its military capability. The same logic operates also at the international level. Today, the USA is considered as most powerful country only due to its military strength. Fifthly, same other resources of power are education, occupation and attainments in the fields of culture, science and technology. Education bestows knowledge awareness and capability and it is rare that a person without education occupies a power position. While bureaucrats are well- educated. It is strange but true that the success in the fields of literature, cinema, music can be a good weapon in the power game. In India, some political leaders like N.T. Ramarao, M.G. Ramchandran and Jaya Lalitha testing to this. Generally, power potential of a person is determined by the resources he commands, but there is no resources that his resources can automatically translate themselves into his power. It is just possible that with required resources, a person Lacks power. In order to ensure that power resources make a person powerful, two other pre-requisite must be present. They are skill and will CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 105 or motivation. Only when one person having resources is highly motivated, his resources and skill will make him powerful. 7.10 Theories of Power The nature of political power cannot be fully understood without the study of its distribution. The distribution of political power determines the identity and the role of the power holder. Therefore, Political Sociology investigates the pattern of the distribution of political power. Several theories have been advanced to explain the distribution of political power, and the causes behind it, These theories may be classified into Elitist and Non-Elitist theories. The Elitist theory was advanced to oppose the Non-Elitist theory of Karl Marx. Non-Elitist Theory or Marxist Theory The Marxian theory of distribution of political power is otherwise called as class theory of power. The Marxist theory is the very first theory which states the distribution of political power in a society. After the development of Elite theory the Marxist theory is known as non-elitist theory. The Marxist theory of distribution of political power is an extension of his class theory. He rejected the functionalist contention that power resides in society and used for social purpose, he does not agree with the pluralists contention that power is shared by various groups existing in society. According to Marx, power in a society resides in the hands of dominant economic class which exercises monopoly over the means of production and distribution. This class uses power to strengthen its own position and to silence its opponents. Source of power: In every society, those who exercise control over economic infrastructure, enjoy political power. As they have control over forces of production they dominate all others by exercising power. The ruling class always monopolise ruling power and rules over the lower class. The ruling class exercises control over society, political system and economy to consolidate its position. It also controls the army. It enacts laws to legitimise its property and position. It uses government authority and institutions to further its own end as against the subordinates. The CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

106 Political Science – I ruling class create a social environment in their favour. It also try to ensure that the components of super structure are so attuned that it becomes almost impossible for every other thought to grow and develop. All political leaders come from this class and the socio-economic factors largely determine the distribution of political power in a society. Marx holds that, distribution of political power is a continuous process and it is marked by perpertual-conflict between the rulers and the ruled. The sub-ordinate class undergoes untold miseries and at last they get themselves organised to launch an attack on the ruling class. In capitalist countries, due to vast gap between rich and poor the conflict becomes severe. The upper class enjoys all the riches while the lower class suffers badly. In course of fine, the lower class organise a fight against the upper class and finally overthrow them, leading to the establishment of a classless society. This conflict between the two classess is violent and it affects the distribution of political power Thus, marx holds that distribution of political power in societ; is not fixed changeable. Criticism (a) Marxist theory of distribution of political power is criticised by Tom Bottomore on the ground that, not only economically superior class always rule the society but also politically socially and intellectually superior classes also capture ruling power. (b) Marx neglects the role of middle-class which plays an important role in every society. Elite Theories of Power The Elite theory provides the most valid explanation about the distribution of political power in a society. According to theory in every society there are two groups, one group consisting of those selected view who have the right to this supreme leadership and the masses. The minority few are called elites who hold high political offices at given time. Elites are those minorities which are set apart from the rest of the society by their pre-eminence in one or more of these various distribution. The political elites comprise the power holders of a body politic. The elite theory is based on the assumption that men are inherently unequal and only a few elected persons have a valid little to rule over the many. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 107 The origin of theory this theory can be traced in the writings of Vilfredo Pareto. Gaetano Mosca, Robert Michels, James Burnham and C. Wright Mills. These thinkers are mainly sociologists who have explained the process of distribution of political power in their own word. Thus, the Elite Theory can be further devided into four parts: (a) The Organisational Approach of Mosca and Michels (b) The Psychological Approach of Pareto (c) The Economic Approach of Burnham and (d) The Institutional Approach of C. Wright Mills. (a) Gaetano Mosca and Organisational Approach (i) Mosca in his book “The Ruling Class” has said that in every society throughout history was found to be divided into the ruling class and the ruled. From the primitive age upto the present time, always there are two classes, one that rules and the other is ruled. The ruling class is less numerous but performs all political functions. It therefore, monopolises over the exercise of power. The second class or the masses although represents the majority is always controlled and directed by the ruling class. Tlie ruling class is small and organised with better channels of information and communication. The ruling class in a cohesive, conscious and conspiratorial group having a common will of action. The unorganised majority will have to act on the orders of the minoity. Mosca calls this class as political class. Mosca says that the elites cannot rule just because it holds power. The successful exercise of power by the elite depends upon the political formula. Mosca says, this political formula implies that, the elite can’t just rule by mere physical force, but needs a convincing show of having a moral foundation of this physical force. The elites should represent the demands of the masses in their policies and programmes. The elites do not remain in power permanently. Certain economic, ideological and religious interests may create problems for them and in such situations the elite will have to make compromise to remain in power. Under circumstances the elites will have to CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

108 Political Science – I assimilate new elements into the old class and make a fusion of the two to make it effective. (ii) Another exponent of organisational approach Robert Michels holds that the structure of modern society gives birth to elite rule. No movement or party can hope to succeed with effective organisation and leadership. For the effective organisation of a party it needs technical expertise which the masses cannot provide. Only the selected leaders can provide this and thus power resides in them. Most of the masses are apathetic, indolent and ignorant and they feel happy when others assume political responsibility for them taking this advantage the elites remain in power. The elites remain in power for long and in course of times influences those coming from below to assume their character. Michels does not avoid the possibility of revolt but he says revolts are always suppressed. Even if a revolution is successful, it does not mean an end of elite rule. The leaders of the revolution in the name of people quickly transform themselves into a relatively dosed caste apart from and opposed to the people. They become totally bourgeoisified and thus a revolution means replacement of the elite by a proletarian elite. (b) Vilfred Pareto and Psychological Approach Pareto in his, “The Mind and Society” has dealt with the elite theory. He says, in every society there are two classes, the elites and non-elites. The elites possess the highest ability to rule, control and direct but sometimes persons having ability do not reach at top because of wealth and corruption specially in politics. He divides human actions into logical and non-logical are those which are directed to attainable ends by appropriate means but non-logical actions are not. Most human actions are non-logical but they are projected as logical actions. Every action is composed of two elements derivations and residues. Residues are the manifestations of sentiments while derivations are the rationalisations of the residues. There are six types of which the residue of combinations represent the tendency to originate, manipulate and combine institutions and ideas by the use of imagination and cleverness. The residue of presistence of aggregates are the manifestations of instincts for permanence, stability and order. Force is used in this sphere. Everyone, according to Pareto has a predominance of either of the two residues. In case of Class-I residues they are called CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 109 foxes and in case of Class-II they are called lions. The style of govt. depends on whether the ruling class is composed of foxes or lions. Foxes are bold and courageous and they do not live by cunningness. In the economic sphere they do not take risk for making maximum profits and indulge in promotion schemes. The lions are solid conservative tradition loving and loyal to family, church and the nation. They rely on force rather than cunningness. In the economic field they remain content with small returns on safe investments and do not like to gamble. These two class of elites rule in constant alternation. This is called circulation of elites or the replacement of one elite by another or the circulation of the individual between the elite and non-elite. The process of replacement of elite may be gradual or may be violent. When the elite loses the residues necessary for keeping itself in power it recruits new elements from the lower strata of society and restores it vitality, or the lower classes may violently overthrow the elites and become new elite assuming the necessary residues for keeping itself in power. Thus, in all such cases of change there is no real transformation of social structure, but rule of elite. (c) Burnham and Economic Approach James Burnham in his ‘The Managerial Revolution’ states that in every society there is a change in the group of elite which rules. There may be a change in the composition of elite but no end of elite rule. He believes that the elites rule by means of economic power. The group which controls the means of production and distribution predominates in administration. This economic control gives rise to political power and social prestige and elite is formed. But the elite faces a crisis in the capitalists enjoy monopoly over production. But gradually they leave managerial job to the professionals and concentrate only on financing. At last they retire from making finance and remained content with living on their profits. Thus, the capitalists are replaced by the managerial elite. The economic power of the managerial elite brings political power to the elite. (d) C.Wright Mills and Institutional Approach Mills rejected Burnham’s view that political power of the elite comes from its economic power. He therefore bases the term power elite instead of ruling elite. In his book ‘The Power Elite’ he says that power elite is the product of the institutional landscape of the society. He says, those who occupy the command posts of the social structure are called power elites. They hold a pivotal position and are palced at the top ranks of the hierarchy. In American society, Mills finds CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

110 Political Science – I power elite within the military, the big corporations and the political executive. They remain at the top of the key institutions in the society. Power is attached to institutions and those occupying command positions in economic, political and military spheres are called elites. The greater the institutional proximity the higher is the degree of cohesiveness that the power elite enjoys. The power elite according Mills, is a conscious, conspirational and cohesive group which represents a minority working at command positions of the key institutions of modern society. In the face of power elite the mass is fragmented and sub-dued. Thus, the elite theory holds that political power is concentrated in few hands. All societies are ruled by a minority who are the political elites. They are powerful as they have organising ability being a minority. The elite rules always as a self-conscious, cohesive and conspiratorial group. The elites enjoy immense power for which even the-majority cannot raise its voice and is ruled by them. The elitists believe that power brings more power. It is a means to secure economic wealth or social prestige Thus the political elites regulate the entry of non-elites into it. Criticisms The Elite theory suffers from the following criticisms: (a) The pluralists challenge the elitist contention that society is marked by the existence of a single centre of power. They say that in every society there are various centres of power. (b) Robert Dahl condemning this theory says that, the Elitists confuse poetntial control with actual control. A group may have high potential for control but it cannot be powerful unless it has a potential for unity. But the elitists have never taken this potential for unity into account. (c) Dahl from his experiments of New Heaven finds that society is pluralistic. Individuals who are influencial in one sector are not so in another sector. The leaders influencing different issue areas do not come from a single community and the elites never from a cohesive, conspiratorial and conscious group. Dahl says, society is basically polyarchy where a large number of minority groups operate possessing a variety of political resources which are unevenly distributed among them. There is no single elite-political power is determined not by hierarchical but by horizontal relationships. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 111 Despite these shortcomings it is worth mentioning that, political power is uneventy distributed in a society and decisions are taken by a few. Different Views on Elite Rule 1. Mosca and Elite Rule: According to Gaetano Mosca, in every society throughout history was found to be divided into the ruling class and the ruled. From the primitive age upto the present time, always there are two classes, one that rules and the other is ruled. The ruling class is less numerous but performs all political functions and exercises monopoly over the exercise of power. The other class is the masses, although represents the majority is always controlled and directed by the ruling class. The ruling class is small and organised with better channels of information and communication and it is a cohesive, conscious and conspiratonal group having a common will of action. The unorganised majority will have to act on the instruction of the minority. Mosca calls them as ruling class. The elites rule not because of physical force but they prove that they represent the demands of the masses in their policies and functions. These elites do not always remain in power and they have to give way to other group of elites under the stress of circumstances. 2. Robert Michels and Elite Rule: Michels holds that due to the structure of modern society the elites come to assume power only by their organisation and leadership. They possess technical expertise which masses do not. Masses are mostly apathetic indolent and ignorant and the feel happy when othering assume political responsibility on their behalf. The elites remain in power for long and in course of time influence those coming from below to assume their character. The elites may be over thrown by a successful revolution, but those who come to power also assumes the character of the elites. 3. Pareto and Elite Rule: Vilfred Pareto holds that in every society there are two classes, the elites and non-elites. The elites possess the highest ability to rule, control and direct but sometimes persons having ability do not reach the top because of wealth and corruption in politics. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

112 Political Science – I Pareto divides the elites into lions and foxes. The lions are solid and conservative who are loyal to the Church and the nation. But the foxes are bold and courageous. These two classes rule in constant alteration, which he calls circulation of elites. 4. Burnham and Elite Rule: James Burnham says that in every society there is a change in the group of elities which rules. There may be a change in the compostion of elites but no end of eilite rule. He believes that the elites rule by means of economic power. They control the means of production and distribution and predominates in administration. This economic power gives rise to political power and social prestige and elite is formed. The economic power of the managerial elite bring political power to the elite. 5. C. Wright Mills and Elite Rule: According to C.W. Mills power-elite is the product of institutional landscape of the society. They occupy commanding positions in society and as power is attached to such institutions those occupying high positions in economic, military and political spheres are called elites. Thus, elite theory asserts that, political power is unevenly distributed in society and it resides with a few. So there is a govt. of the elites sprung from the people. This theory confirms about the natural inequality of man-kind. The ruling class in always an elite and it is conscious, cohesive and conspiratorial. Political power is unevenly distributed in a society and the elites associated with decision-making are always a few in number. Functionalist Theory Eminent sociologist Talcort Parsons is the exponent of the Functionalist. Theory of distribution of political power. According to this theory power is social resource which is used to promote social interests. The more the power in society the more collective iioals are realised. Parson’s emphasises on value consensus for the survival of social system. As for example materialism is a major value of western society and collective goals such as economic expansion and higher living standard can be derived from such a value. The more efficient societies can a achieve better living standard and higher economic growth. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 113 Since goals are shared by all members of society power will be used in the direction of achieving collective goals, so, power is a social possession and all the members of society must initiate steps for the promotion of social goals. Parsons emphasises upon cooperation and organisation to make the best use of social power. The voters during election confers this power upon the political leaders to promote general well-being, unless they do so the voters have every right to depose them and elect a new exercised for promoting social good. Pluralistic Theory The Pluralistic Theory of distribution of power states that power is dispersed among a variety of groups in society and it is not the monopoly of any specific group or class, Robert. A. Dahl is the exponent of this theory and he reached the conclusion after undertaking research on local politics in New Haven, in USA. Human beings enter into group life to satisfy their divergent needs. There are a plurality of groups existing in every society and politics involves a competition among groups to secure more advantages. There is no dominant group in society to capture political power, hence politics is a bargain or compromise among groups for capturing political power. Politics is the business of a few leaders who actively participate in political struggles called elites. These elites compete for power to further particular interests. The elites work as heads of interest groups and through them all social group influence the decision-making process. In democracy, two or more political parties compete for power and they represent a wide range of interests to have control over government. The govt. in a democracy makes a balance between various interests represented by interest groups to maintain balance. The people in a democracy do not remain passive but they influence the policy decisions through voting power. The government therefore, remains accountable to the people. Political power in a society is shared by plurality of group and the leaders of these groups in one way or the other influence the exercises of ruling power. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

114 Political Science – I 7.11 Meaning and Definitions of Authority Authority is a universal Phenomenon and it has always been there in all societies throughout history. Authority is basically related to power, but power and authority are not identical. Authority is power plus. It is also related to obedience, but obedience may not exclusively a political phenomenon. It exists in political as well as non-political organisations. Every association in the society, big or small, permanent or temporary, has its own structure of authority. The concept of authority like the related concepts with which it is frequently associated power, influence, legitimacy and leadership. It is used in a variety of ways in Political Science, Political Philosophy, Political Sociology and other social sciences. Many scholars have used interchangebly the term ‘power’, ‘influence’ ‘control’, ‘authority’ and ‘leadership’. The term ‘Authority’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Auctoritas’ which means agreement or approval. The term “Authority” has been defined in various ways by different social scientists. Despite quest for a precise definition of the concept, it is as old as government itself. Robert Michels defines Authority, “as capacity, innate or acquired, for exercising ascendancy over a group”. He says authority is manifestation of power. Bertrand de Jouvenel says, “The phenomenon called ‘authority’ is at once, more ancient and more fundamental than the phenomenon called ‘state’. The natural ascendancy of some men over others is the principle of all human organisations and all human advances.” MacIver says, “Authority is often defined as being power—the power to command obedience.” Robert Bierstedt says, “Authority becomes a power phenomenon.—it is sanctioned power, institutional power”. Harold D. Lasswell and Abraham Kaplan define authority as ‘formal power.’ CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 115 E.A. Shils says, “Authority is that form of power which orders or articulates the actions of other actors through commands which are effective because those who are commanded regard the commands as Legitimate. ” Carl J. Friedrich defines Authority as “the quality of a communication, which is capable of reasoned elaboration.” Robert A. Dahl defines it saying “Legitimate power is often called Authority.” The Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences defined it as the capacity, innate or acquired, for exercising ascendancy over a group. It is a manifestation of power and implies obedience on the part of those subject to it. One of the principal means of exercising authority is the dispensation of rewards and punishments. 7.12 Development of Concept The implications of man’s involvement in the state i.e. his obligations as a citizen, are analysed in Plato’s famous dialogues—‘Apology’ and ‘Crito’. The trial and conviction of Socrates poses the basic problem of political authority. The justification of political authority, the location of sovereignty, the balancing of freedom and authority, the requirements of political obligations— these are the core questions of political philosophy from the time of Plato to the present day. Hobbes and Machiavelli gave it a realistic touch. The term “Authority” is derived from the Latin word “Auctoritas” which means agreement or approval. In ancient Rome the Senate comprising of mature intellectuals played a significant role in making decisions. The Romans decided the state policy in open meetings and accordingly the laws were made. Max Weber made maximum contribution to the development of the concept of authority in twentieth century. He distinguishes between three pure types of authority namely: (i) Legal- rational, (ii) Traditional, and (iii) Charismatic, according to the kind of claim to legitimacy typically made by each category. In the modern age the concept of ‘Authority’ has gained much significance. This occupies an important place in the modern writings on Political Science. But social scientists have failed to come to an agreement as to how the concept of authority should be used. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

116 Political Science – I 7.13 Features of Authority There are certain distinguishing features of authority. The social scientists have tried to study “authority” in a variety or empirical settings, such as the family (parental authority), small groups (informal authority), intermediate organisations (schools, churches, armies, industries) governmental bureaucracy (organisational and bureaucratic authority), tribal society, modern state and international organisations (political authority). Authority relates to a person or office. It is the right to issue orders. Secondly, it is a relationship between two officers, one superior and the other subordinate, and both the incumbents perceive the relationship as legitimate. Thirdly, it is a quality of communication by virtue of which it is accepted. Fourthly, it is basic to human behaviour irrespective of its logical forms. Fifthly, if the character of-the communication is questioned, then authority is diminished and the bond that holds the participants together is in the danger of being severed. It is strongest when subordinates anticipate the commands of superiors even before they are voiced. Sixthly, authority is exercised most characteristically within a network of clearly defined hierarchical roles : parent-child, teacher pupil, employer- employee and ruler-ruled relations. The authority relations are insititutionalised. Duties and obligations are specified, behaviour is reasonably predictable, and relations continue over a period of time. Seventhly, authority is one among several resources available to incumbents of formal positions. 7.14 Characteristics of Authority The following are in brief, the necessary elements or characteristics of authority: (a) Power relationships: Power relationships involve the powerful and the persons surrendering to the power which is possible only if the power is carried on with authority. Authority involves two parties or actors. One is the power-holder and the other is the CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 117 power-addressee while the forms is conscious of its right to issue order or command, the latter considers it as its duty to obey this order or command. (b) Minimum use of force: The establishment of authority should be done by minimum use of force as it is the case with political authority in a state. The authority will be right in using power as long as it is legitimate. Once it is devoid of legitimacy, it loses this right. Similarly, the people have right to oppose or resist an authority in which, they feel, lacks legitimacy. (c) Sanctions: The most important bases of authority are the sanctions. These sanctions may be positive or negative. While the positive sanctions are in the form of reward, the negative sanctions are in the form of punishment. The powerful person rules both by reward and punishment. In ancient times the use of punishment was almost necessary. However, from the modern view point, as Robert A. Dahl has pointed out. “It is far more economical to rule by authority than by means of coercion.” (d) Organised efforts: Authority is not achieved spontaneously, it is attained. For it the powerful person has to make organised effort. Several means are used in such efforts, of which propaganda is most important. Different government circulate favourable ideas and values in their fields which organise in the form of ideology. (e) Ideology: The most solid basis of political authority in modern times is ideology. To quote, Robert E. Dowse & John A. Hughes, “That is to say; assuming that men are liable to be rational calculators in most situations, an ideology may be a device to transcend this fact by appealing to them so emotionally that they temporarily forget immediate self interest and become absorbed in the ideological movement.” An example of the influence of ideology may be seen in communist states. It is more required in the circumstances where validity of authority is necessary. Ideology provides emotional bases for this ability. It is hence that ideological movements are a common feature of developing countries. In the developed countries however, its influence has become established. It may be remembered here that ideological movements are launched both in favour as well as against the authority. In fact any ideology may provide normative system for the government and the governed. While, on the one hand, it encourages the governed to be CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

118 Political Science – I obedient, it also instructs the government to use authority according to rule. If the powerful person constantly rejects the values which have provided sanctions to his authority, his authority may be in danger. Again, no ideology can tolerate antagonistic ideology while such antegonism is found everywhere. In fact, contradictory thoughts are found in every ideology which, in due course, attains the form of a new ideology. If the political authority modifies itself according to new ideology, it continues to maintain its authority. If however, it does not do so, it faces danger to its existence. If in a country the single ideology remains powerful, the government is stable. On the other hand, if there are two or more conflicting ideologies sufficiently matching each other, constant change and turmoil is seen in the political field and authority, according to one ideology, rules some time giving place to another authority according to different ideology. In modern times tie communist and the capitalist ideologies have particularly influenced political field everywhere. Nations, in which communist ideology is dominant, have uprooted capitalism and do not allow any idea in its favour to circulate. On the other hand, states based upon capitalist ideology propagate in its favour and do not accept communist ideology on any condition. In the countries where a middle course ideology between the extremist ideologies, is dominant, the repression and conflict are very much diminished. In some countries of middle East Islamic ideology has dominated political field. In these nations there is a forceful repression not only of unislamic ideas but also of the ideas different from Islam ideology. In these nations, effort is made to change and mould the total life of the entire society according to the dictates of the religious texts. In fact, though the dominance of a single political ideology increases the stability of the government, repression of the opposing ideologies creates in-human situations. Therefore, in democratic states, mutually conflicting ideologies are allowed the freedom to propagate within certain limits.An example of this approach maybe seen in India. This liberality certainly makes the government activities some what loose but this is the price which must be paid for the maintenance of democratic values. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 119 7.15 Different Dimensions of Authority There are different dimensions of authority which are to be examined: (a) Authority and Reason: The authority is the embodiment of reason, which is its fundamental basis. One person obeys the orders of another, if he has convincing reasons for doing so. In simple terms, it is the reasonableness of authorities that make us obey authority. The attitude of men towards authority may be positive or negative depends upon the reasonableness of authorities. (b) Authority and State: Authority is found and operates in a state. Although always exercised by individuals, authority may inhere in an objective entity like State.A legitimate monarch derives his authority from a system of arrangements which is necessary for his existence. An elected president even when raised to power because of his personal merits derives his authority from the state which he legally represents. Even the charismatic leaders adopt traditional methods of using the authority of the state in relation to the individuals. (c) Authority and Public Opinion: Authority is being maintained by Public Opinion. This is true of both the personal or institutional origin of authority. Even when authority is based on physical coercion,public opinion plays a prominent role. (d) Authority and Values: The ancient basis of authority is faith in its supernatural or heroic origin. This was because of the belief that power of the King is derived from God. The faith upon authority is based on different attributes depending on the scale of value such as among traditional people authority is vested in certain families (monarchy) among the democratic people it lies in the sovereignty of the people and among the people who believe in hero worship it is vested in the men of destiny. (e) The Distance between the Ruler and Ruled: Authority can exist without maintaining the distance between the ruler and ruled. For example in democracy, the leaders of the political parties exercise their authority by maintaining distance between themselves and their followers. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

120 Political Science – I (f) Authority and Symbols: Symbol is the another way to maintain authority. The objects like banners, flags, emblems and images are being displayed as symbols to mobilse the followers and to exercise authority. (g) Authority and the Habit of Compliance: The people obey their authority because they have a general habit of compliance. Individuals do obey laws and specific commands because they have been trained to do so on the matter of habit. The habit of compliance makes the task of the rulers easier. (h) Authority and Legitimacy: Authority and Legitimacy are closely inter-connected. Legitimacy consists in the right to compliance. When the Legitimacy is added to power, making it a right to power authority emerges. Thus, the legitimized power is known as Authority. (i) Social Distance and Authority: Authority can be created and preserved by maintaining a distance between those who command and those who obey. This is best illustrated by the caste system in India. The upper caste people dominating the authority. Structures social as well as political maintain their special status by rigidly observing endogamy and lower caste people, having little access to authority structures, are not allowed to have any social relation with them. 7.16 Kinds of Authority Max Weber has pointed out to three sources of the validity of authority- rational, traditional and charismatic. According to these three sources of authority, one finds three types of authority- Rational-legal. Traditional and Charismatic. The description of these in brief is as follows: 1. Rational - Legal Authority This type of authority is based on written rules defining rights and duties. In case of rational - legal authority - legitimacy is derived, from an office held within a system of deliberately framed rules setting out rights and duties. In such type of authority, obedience is paid not to the individual holding office but to the legally established order. It extends to the persons exercising the authority of office under it by virtue of the formal legality of their commands and only within CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 121 the scope of authority of office. Thus Mr. H.D. Dev Gowda is obeyed not as a person concerned but as the Prime Minister of India under the fundamental laws created under the Constitution of India. Thus it is evident that in case of rational legal authority obedience is given to an impersonal order. In rational - legal authority the power holder hold an office in terms, of clearly defined rules. So he enjoys specified powers covering a fixed area that in normal circumstances is not liable to change. In case of rational-legal authority the sphere of arbitrary free choice is inconceivable. When authority rests on the rational-legal legitimacy the incumbent of this authority derives the legitimacy of his power not from himself but from a legal office which is external to him. This ensures the stability of the rational legal order because the criticism against the actions of the person holding this authority does not necessarily mean the rejection of the system as such. In our modern life which is marked by an attempt at every level to provide an institutional frame work to use social and political relations it is but natural that authority in most cases will flow from an office held under the auspices of deliberately framed rules, that is the authority will pre-dominantly be rational legal. At the political level, especially in the context of modern democratic societies with their insistence on constitutionalism and rule of law, authority is decidedly rational - legal. The modern industrial societies are likely to be very much respectful about the rational - legal type of authority. Because in such a society emotive elements are largely absent in the social enterprises. An actor usually, views his role and also performs it with a pre-dominantly non- emotional and calculating mental frame. Again in an industrial society, choices and opportunities are always very wide and there is a continuous change in the types of these choices and opportunities. And because of this the rate of social mobilisation is very high and this higher rate of social mobilisation adds dynamism to the character of society. Again in industrialisation there is the inter-dependence of the productive enterprises. Hence in such a society the problem of order becomes extremely important because any minor dislocation at any of these inter-related points is likely to upset the whole system. In an industrial society, the high educational standards CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

122 Political Science – I and high standard of living makes a meaningful use of the communication as a result of which the gap between the ruler and the ruled considerably narrows down. It is because of the above characteristics the industrial society is necessarily a rational - legal type. Here there is no urgent necessity on the part of this rational - legal authority to look for its strength in other sources of legitimacy like charisma and tradition. Since in an industrial society - the maintenance of order is vitally important for the sake of on going process of inter-related productive operations political authority enjoys an easy acceptability in view of the great utilitarian relevance to the mantainance of order. In the industrial society the social culture is not quite ungenial to a lavish growth of tradition and charisma. In an industrial society, the social culture is largely shorn of emotive elements. Industrialisation puts a premium on technology and science and not on faith. It calls for rentinised economic and political process and not inspiration. All this negates the possibility of a free use of charisma. Likewise because of the absence of a persistent reverential attitude in the social culture tradition also cannot be much relied on in an industrial society. 2. Traditional Authority When people often obey an authority as a matter of habit is called traditional authority. In case of traditional authority the right to power results from reverence for the old established patterns of order. For example — a tribal chief holds a position of authority, just because this has been the immemorial tradition in this society and those who obey this authority share a belief in the sanctity of settled traditions. Here the obligation of obedience is not based on the impersonal order, but is a matter of personal loyalty within the area of accustomed obligations. The incumbent of the traditional authority holds a status which is governed by traditional prescriptions. Since the traditionally transmitted norms in a society are never codified it is only natural that his area of influence will hardly be as static as in case of rational legal authority. As he is not rigidly tied to specified power of un-specified obligations and services. Thus a sphere of arbitrary free choice is always open to the incumbent of traditional authority. The traditional authority is very much relevant in the social sphere. This type of authority is very much prominent in their pure form in the context of a society which remains yet un- modernised by the accepted standards. Thus in India’s traditional rural soceity a poor Brahmin CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 123 with a very little resources at his command enjoys authority by virtue of the traditional caste norms. In Great Britain tradition has always played a vital role in legitimising political authority. This is because, Britain despite its industrialisation, a reverential attitude persists in her social culture — a phenomenon that may be explained mainly by the geographical factor of the Island. In backward society, the position is that there are wide gap in communication, the level of educational attainment is not very high and the standard of living is very low. This engenders a kind of passivism in the social culture which weakens the basis of rational - legal authority. A rural society is marked by an absence of fast and continuous changes in roles, that’s why a rural society remains basically a static society where old values die hard and where there is a strong attachment for the past. In such circumstances, it is natural that political authority will tend to draw heavily on tradition. Max Weber observes, “Here the obligation of obedience is not based on the impersonal order, but is the matter of personal loyalty written the area of a accustomed obligations.” 3. Charismatic Authority It has been already pointed out, though Constitution leads in every developed country today, some political leaders inspire the followers not by their constitutional status but due to their personal qualities. This is charismatic authority. It is based upon the personal qualities of the leader. Here, people extend obedience to a person possessing charisma. In the words of Max Weber, “It is the charismatically qualified leader as such who is obeyed by virtue of personal trust in him and his revelation, his heroism or his exemplary qualities so far as they fall within the scope of the individual’s belief in his charisma.” For example, the disciplined following of Sri Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs. Indira Gandhi like the following of state laws, was not due to their personal qualities and characteristics. It is due to this reason that one finds a difference in the political influence of so many leaders occupying the same post. For example, one may note the difference in the political influence of the presidents of Indian union Dr. Rajendra Prasad and V.V. Giri. On the other hand some presidents have chosen to act like a rubber stamp of the Prime Minister as may be seen in the case of the Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. The status is the same, its rights and dudes are identical but its use changes in the case of personal charisma of the leader. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

124 Political Science – I Thus charismatic authority is very much personal. From this point of view, in comparison to rational-legal authority, it is nearer to traditional authority type. Therefore, some do not consider it justified. Whereas in the rational- legal type of authority the actions of the authority may be predicted, this is not possible in the case of traditional or charismatic authority. The charismatic leader is not bound by the Constitution. His actions are not predetermined, they are rather free and dependent upon personal choice. These traits are more found in the case of charismatic authority in comparison to traditional authority. There is no limit to the rights of a charismatic leader, in fact, he himself decides his limits and this determination is according to his needs and interests. Thus, charismatic authority is different from both the other types of authority. It is more unpredictable. While in the former two types, the sources of personality and authority are different, in charismatic authority they are same. Whereas in rational-legal authority power is derived from the status, outside the person, in charismatic authority the power is not derived from the status but from within the person itself. Therefore, the former type of rule is valid and stable howsoever it may be opposed in a democratic system. In the traditional authority also there is hardly a danger of political instability as the leader and authority are separate. In the charismatic authority however, the leader is himself the source and career of authority. In the words of W.G. Runciman, “This means, that, the durability of the regime is conditional on its continuing success: any failure by the agents of the system is a failure of the system itself, because the actions of the leader and his agents are all that the legitimacy of the system rests on.” In order to solve this problem, Max Weber has pointed out that the charismatic authority gradually becomes converted into the other two types. This has been called the process of routinistion by Talcott Parsons. To quote his words, “In the process of routinisation the charismatic element does not necessarily disappear. It becomes, rather, dissociated from the person of the individual leader and embodied in an objective institutional structure so that the new holders of authority exercise it at second move as it were, by virtue of an institutionally legitimised status or office.” According to Max Weber the above mentioned three types of authority are ideal types and in practice one generally finds a mixtures of these types. Therefore, as Weber points out, “In the case of legal authority, it is never purely legal. The belief in legality comes to be established and CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 125 habitual, and this means it is purely traditional, violation of the traditional may even be fatal to it. Furthermore, it has a charismatic element, at least in the negative sense that persistence and striking lack of success may be sufficient to ruin any government, to undermine its prestige, and to prepare the way for charismatic revolution.” Authority is power plus legitimacy. It loses its strength and force when it is stripped of legitimacy. It is, therefore, imperative that has a government gains and maintains legitimacy. Otherwise its sanctity and viability would be in questions. An authority is mixed in character. There is no pure type of any kind of authority. Any type of authority, while containing the more of one type of authority, may also have some amount of other two types of authority. There is a clear gap between backward societies and developed societies in respect of authority. In backward societies authority is predominately traditions while the rational-legal authority is the dominant pattern in developed societies. 7.17 Relationship Between Power and Authority Authority is closely related to power. Authority is formal or legal as distinguished from personal power. It is power assigned to a position by the popularly accepted ground rules for the operation of the political system. For example, the constitution assigns certain powers to the American President, and gives him authority. By the authority that he gets in that office the actions of the President are accepted voluntarily by the people. His directions are, therefore, carried out without the employment of force or sanctions. Hence there are two objects of focus : a position, or a role in an institution and an individual occupying that position, By “role” it implies the set of patterned expectations about behaviour that the members of the society attribute to a position in a institution. An institution is a set of interrelated roles designed to so organise and coordinate behaviour as to achieve a goal or perform a function. Both power and authority are delicately rooted in the attitudes of those who are asked to comply with political decision. While authority has the image of legitimacy, power has the image of strength. A citizen may obey the authority because of the fear or the consequences of disobedience. The citizen is aware that the state has the strength to enforce commands. Power is a CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

126 Political Science – I vital element of political strength. Aristotle is right when he says that “most men are naturally apt to be swayed away by fear rather than reverence, and to refrain from evil rather because of the punishmant that it brings, than because of its own foulness”. 7.18 Meaning and Definition of Legitimacy Meaning: Generally, Legitimacy means right to rule. In Political Science legitimacy is the right and acceptance of an authority, usually a governing law or a regime. Whereas ‘authority’ denotes a specific in an establish government the ‘Legitimacy’ denotes a system of government where in ‘government’ denotes ‘sphere of influence’ Political Legitimacy is considered a basic condition for governing, without which a government will suffer legislative deadlock and collapse. As per Chinese political philosophy the political Legitimacy of a ruler and government was derived form the mandate of heaven and unjust rulers who lost said mandate therefore lost the right to rule the people. According to Marten Lipset “Legitimacy involves the capacity of a political system to engender and main the belief that existed political institutions are the most appropriate and proper ones for the society. Robert A. Dahl explained legitimacy as a reservoir, so long as the water is at a given level, political stability is maintained, if it falls below the required level, political legitimacy is endangered. German philosopher Dolf Stemberger said that legitimacy is the founds than of such governmental power as is exercised, both with a consciousness on the government part that it has a right to govern and with some recognition by the governed of that right. Thus Legitimacy is a value whereby something or someone is recognized and accepted as right and proper. Usually it is understood as the popular acceptance and recognition by the public of authority of a governing regime. 7.19 Types of Legitimacy German sociologist Max Weber has classified Legitimacy as traditional, charismatic and rational legal: CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 127 (a) Traditional Legitimacy: It derives from societal custom and habit that emphasize the history of the authority of tradition. Traditionalists understand this from of rule as historically accepted. Hence its continuity because it is the way society has always been. Therefore, the institutions of traditional government basically are historically continuous, as in monarchy and trabalism. (b) Charismatic Legitimacy: This types of Legitimacy derives from the idea and personal charisma of the leader, a person whose authority personal charms and psychologically dominates the people of the society to agreement with the governments regime and rule. A charismatic government regime and rule. A charismatic government usually features weak political and administrative institutions because they derive authority from the persona of the leader in power. However, if the charismatic leader has a successor a government derived from charismatic Legitimacy right continue. (c) Rational Legal Legitimacy: It derives form a system of institutional procedure where in government institutions establish and enforce law and order in the people interest. Therefore, it is though public trust that the government will abiole the law that confers rational legal Legitimacy. 7.20 Forms of Legitimacy (a) Numinous Legitimacy: Numinous legitimacy originates from numinous inspiration. An authority is considered legitimate it is believed to be the embodiment of god. According to the theological doctrine of Egypt, Pharaoh was accepted as the God Horus himself, the son of Osiris. Pharaoh’s empire was God’s empire. Obedience to the king was not so much due to political necessity as due to religious obligation. People obeyed the king out of their belief that it was their moral duty to be obedient to him as he was both the God and the son of God. In medieval Europe both kings and priests elicited people’s respect and obedience as they were believed to be the embodiements of the institution of vicariat. Even today the legitimacy of the papal office is hardly in question. Since Christ’s designation of St. Peter, the Pope has continued to enjoy the unquestioned Loyality of Christians all over the world. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

128 Political Science – I (b) Civil Legitimacy: The ultimate source of numinous legitimacy is God. Religion plays an important role in promoting people to accept royal rule as legitimate. But civil legitimacy has little to do with God or religion. This results from the trust of people that a government, based on their consent, would Work. When a government is formed following an agreement between equally autonomous institutions who have combined to work for common good, the people consider it to be their duty to obey it. The legitimacy of the government results from the agreement freely reached between equal parties. Every constitutional or representative government is founded on the basic agreement to follow certain rules. These rules require the government to protect civil liberties and promote common good. Civil legitimacy is based on trust rather than dominion. In democracies elections held at regular intervals confer legitimacy on the ruling elctes. Thus, legitimacy of a civil government derives from agreement among the autonomous constituent institutions- legislative, executive, judicial combined for national common good. Negative and Positive Legitimacy: Some scholars distinguish between negative political legitimacy, which is about the object of legitimation, and positive political legitimacy, which is about the source legitimation negative political is concerned with establishing where to draw the line between good and bad, positive political legitimacy with who should be drawing in the first place. From the positive perspective, political, legitimacy emanates from appropriate actions, from a positive political legitimacy perspective, it emanates from appropriate actors. In the social contract tradition, Hobbes and Locke focused on negative political legitimacy, which Rousseau focused more on positive political legitimacy (the people as the legitimator). Thus, political stability depends on both forms of legitimacy. Instrumental and Substantive Legitimacy: Max Weber’s understanding of legitimacy rests on share values, such as tradition and rational legality. But policies that aim at constructing legitimacy by improving the service delivery or ‘output’ of a state often only respond to share needs. Therefore, substantive sources of legitimacy need to be distinguished from move instrumental ones. Instrument of the uselessness of n authority deseribing to what etent an authority responds to shared needs. Instrumental legitimacy is very much based on the perceived CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 129 effectiveness of service delivery. Conversely, substative legitimacy is more abstract normative judgement, which is underpinned by shared values. If a person believes that an entity has the right to exercise social control, he or she may also accept personal disadvantages. 7.20.1 Forms of Legitimate Government In determining the political legitimacy of a system of rule and government, the term proper– political legitimacy–is philosophically an essentially contested concept that facilitates understanding the different applications and interpretations of abstract, qualitative, and evaluative concepts such as “art”, “social justice”, et cetera, as applied in aesthetics, political philosophy, the philosophy of history, and the philosophy of religion. Therefore, in defining the political legitimacy of a system of government and rule, the term “essentially contested concept” indicates that a key term (communism, democracy, constitutionalism, etc.) has different meanings within a given political argument. Hence, the intellectually restrictive politics of dogmatism (“My answer is right, and all others are wrong”), scepticism (“All answers are equally true or [false]; everyone has a right to his own truth”), and eclecticism (“Each meaning gives a partial view, so the more meanings the better”) are inappropriate philosophic stances for managing a political term that has more than one meaning) Establishing what qualifies as a legitimate form of government continues to be a topic of great philosophical controversy. Forms of legitimate government are posited to include:  Communism: The legitimacy of a Communist state derives from having won a civil war, a revolution, or from having won an election, such as the Presidency of Salvador Allende (1970-73) in Chile; thus, the actions of the Communist government are legitimate, authorised by the people. In the early twentieth century, Communist parties based the arguments supporting the legitimacy of their rule and government upon the scientific nature of Marxism.  Constitutionalism: The modern political concept of constitutionalism establishes the law as supreme over the private will, by integrating nationalism, democracy, and limited government. The political legitimacy of constitutionalism derives from popular belief and acceptance that the actions of the government are legitimate because they abide by CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

130 Political Science – I the law codified in the political constitution. The political scientist Carl Joachim Friedrich (1901-84) said that, in dividing political power among the organs of government, constitutional law effectively restrains the actions of the government.  Democracy: In a democracy, government legitimacy derives from the popular perception that the elected government abides by democratic principles in governing, and thus is legally accountable to its people.  Fascism: In the 1920s and the 1930s, fascism. based its political legitimacy upon the arguments of traditional authority; respectively, the German National Socialists and the Italian Fascists claimed that the political legitimacy of their right to rule derived from philosophically denying the (popular). political legitimacy of elected liberal democratic governments. During the Weimar Republic (1918-33), the political philosopher Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) — whose legal work as the “Crown Jurist of the Third Reich” promoted fascism and deconstructed liberal democracy — addressed the matter in Legalität und Legitimität (Legality and Legitimacy, 1932), an anti-democratic polemic treatise that asked: How can parliamentary government make for law and legality, when a 49 per cent minority accepts as politically legitimate the political will of a 51 per cent majority?  Monarchy: In a monarchy, the divine right of kings establishes the political legitimacy of the rule of the monarch (king or queen); legitimacy also derives from the popular perception (tradition and custom) and acceptance of the monarch as the rightful ruler of nation and country. Contemporarily, such divine-right legitimacy is manifest in the absolute monarchy of the House of Saud (est. 1744), a royal family who have ruled and governed Saudi Arabia since the 18th century. Moreover, constitutional monarchy is a variant form of monarchic political legitimacy which combines traditional authority and legal-rational authority, by which means the monarch maintains nationalist unity (one people) and democratic administration (a political constitution). CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 131 7.21 Legitimacy: A Historical View Legitimacy seems to have been derived from the Latin word, Legitimus, which is classical Latin. The word, legitimitas, occurred first in medieval texts. Legitimus means lawful or according to law. In medieval times, it meant ancient customs and customary procedure. First it referred to qualified persons who could testify and guarantee some juridical action. Their presence provided legal validity to an action. Then it referred to the procedure of a council or the resolution or assent of judiciary which was considered lawful. The word ‘legitimate’ means rule and order as well as the assembly itself to which the rule refers. If we add the element of ‘consent’ to the original ‘varitas’ of the elected emperor, the meaning of ‘legitimus’ comes very close to its modern connotation. The consent of people is the core element of legitimacy. Although Plato did note explicitly talk of legitimacy, his ‘justice’ was close to legitimacy. The idea of legitimacy Was also implicit in Aristotle’s concept of the best constitution and in the distinctions between good and bad forms of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. His discussion on king and tyrant had also implications for legitimacy, Thomas Aquianas said that no community or government outside the ‘City of God’ could be legitimate. In order to be legitimate, kingdoms have to demonstrate that their subjects are ‘Christ’s people’ as the kings have to demonstrate that they are ‘Christ’s vicars’. Aquianas, in other words, underlined the divine origin of legitimacy. No king can claim legitimacy without demonstrating that he is the representative of God. Taking a different view, Marsilius of Padua emphasised that the polity is an autonomous entity and that it does not require any spiritual approbation or interpretation. He denied the church any right of dominion. He stressed that legitimacy is not derived from God. In his view, constitutional election is the only source of its legitimacy. John Locke, while repudiating the divine right of kings, said that the legitimacy of all political institutions including the king depends on agreement and on consent of people. As opposed to this democratic view of legitimacy, Joseph de Maistre, reiterated the divine origin of legitimacy. While stating that royal family rather than royal office has been chosen by God, he emphasised that hereditary succession lends legitimacy. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

132 Political Science – I According to Weber, there are three types of legitimate authority, namely; rational-legal, traditional and charismatic. To Weber, traditional legitimacy is derived primarily from patriarchal and feudal forms of order and dominion, and charismatic leadership is represented by prophets, heroes and other leaders possessing some unique qualities. Bureaucracy. associated with making and implementing laws, represents best the rational-legal authority. Each type of these authorities is legitimate because people on their own obey them. 7.22 Political Legitimacy and Authority According to Robert A. Dahl, leaders in a political system try to convert their influence to authority. Authority is the exercise of legitimate power, Dahl says. Legitimacy comes from consent. When power is exercised with the consent of people, that becomes legitimate. The more legitimate a government, the less the need to use coercion. The need of using coercion is minimised in correspondence to the amount of consent behind the government. However, a legitimate system is not totally free from coercion. When people are willing to accept punishment by authorities, there is coercion involved. They may be punished by the police. The judiciary may punish the guilty in several ways. The guilty may be sentenced to jail or he may even be sentenced to death. Judicial decisions are binding and these are accepted as justice. If necessary, people may be asked to join compulsory military service. All these are examples of coercive use of power, and willing obedience of people to these decisions or orders of authorities suggest that the government has legitimacy. The government has consent of people who regard it as ‘right’, ‘proper’ and a ‘morally good’ repository of power. The legitimacy of a political system resides in the belief of people. The government has legitimacy if the people believe that it has the right to rule. An order becomes valid if the people have belief in its validity. As Weber has said, “it is only the probability of orientation to the subjective belief in the validity of an order which constitutes the valid order itself.” A regime is legitimate if it can engender and maintain the belief that the existing political institutions are the most appropriate ones for the society. Effectiveness is primarily instrumental while legitimacy is evaluative. A group of people would regard a political system as legitimate if its values fit with theirs. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 133 To win legitimacy is not easy. It is equally difficult to maintain it. The government should not be complacent that it has the consent of people. The consent of people is not permanent. It may be withdrawn. If the people are not happy with the performance of the government, they may take back their consent from it. The unemployed youth, out of frustration, may revolt. The landless labourers, exploited and hungry, may launch a violent agitation. Tribals, Dalits, women and other such disadvantaged groups may launch struggles for their legitimate rights. All these would suggest withdrawal of consent which may lead to a crisis of legitimacy. The root of legitimacy crisis is government’s inefficiency and failure. In order to maintain its legitimacy, the government must be fair, judicious, efficient and effective. Use of coercion must be minimum and punishment must be judicious. The people must be convinced that the government is sincere and honest and that it is doing its best to help and protect them. Legitimacy is, thus, related to consent and obedience. A government is legitimate when the people feel that it is their duty to obey it because it is based on their consent. The government stands a good chance of winning the consent and obedience of people if it can convince them that it is part of their moral social order, and that it reflects their community’s cultural values in the exercise of power. The acceptance or rejection by people of the legitimacy of a political system depends on the way the government observes the values to which they are committed. 7.23 Legitimacy and Effectiveness A government, in order to be legitimate, must be effective. An ineffective government would lose its legitimacy. There are several routes to legitimacy through effectiveness. For centuries, the theory of ‘Divine Rights’ was invoked to gain legitimacy. The people were made to believe that the government was effective because it had the sanction of the God. Another method of making the Government effective is using force/ coercion. In many third world countries military dictatorships have survived long. While the people obey such governments out of fear, in some cases their obedience is based on their feeling that the ruling regime has worked well and done enough for the nation and the people. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

134 Political Science – I A democratic government can also be legitimate by functioning effectively. In a democracy a government comes to power with the support of the people, and it would continue to get their support if it serves them well. A government is effective if it promotes the interests of people, safeguards national security and makes the nation strong. A government would be considered effective if it promotes economic development and enhances national prestige. The stability of a political system is related to the legitimacy of the government. If the government is perceived to be lacking legitimacy, there is fear of a military coup. When a military junta seizes power through a coup, it invariably tries to justify its action by pointing to the ineffectiveness of the government and loss of its legitimacy. The military would remain loyal to civilian authorities so long as the latter maintain their legitimacy. The stability of a political system would be significantly influenced by civil- military equation. Growth of proper norms governing civil-military relationship would contribute to the stability and legitimacy of the system. Lipset is of the view that political stability is a function of the combination of effectiveness and legitimacy. A society, high on the scales of both legitimacy and effectiveness, has invariably a stable political system. On the contrary, ineffective and illegitimate regimes are, by definition, unstable and break down unless they are dictatorships maintaining themselves by force. Lipset further points out that a highly effective but illegitimate system is more unstable than regimes which are relatively low in effectiveness and high in legitimacy. 7.24 Legitimacy and Charismatic Leadership A regime would gain in legitimacy if its leader has charisma. A leader becomes charismatic by virtue of his policy or personality. Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong), Jawaharlal Nehru and John F. Kennedy were some of the best known charismatic leaders to have won legitimacy for their respective governments. These leaders drew large crowds who almost blindly followed them. Whatever a charismatic leader does, that is almost certain to be appreciated by the people. A government may fail to meet the needs of the people, still then they may support it if the head of the government is a charismatic leader. The Nehru government remained popular until his death CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 135 not so much due to the performance of the government as due to Nehru’s mass appeal. In Cuba, the economic situation is not good, and the US is trying to inject discontent into the people of Cuba against their government. But the people of Cuba still support their government mainly because they immensely love anti respect their charismatic leader, Fidel Castro, the President of Cuba. In recent years Communist governments have collapsed one after another in a number of countries. But the Communist government of Cuba remains still strong and stable. There is, of course, the danger of a charismatic leader overplaying his cards. If he takes his people for granted and indulges in committing excesses, the people are likely to withdraw their support from him. This happened in case of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in mid-seventies. To further her own political interest, she imposed National Emergency in 1975. She tried to convince the people that the National Emergency was in their interests. But they could see through her game, and punished her and her party in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections. How much charismatic a leader may be, if he betrays his people, he is likely to be punished by them sooner or later. Mrs. Gandhi’s government lost its legitimacy after she started behaving like a dictator. 7.25 Legitimacy and Ideology Ruling regimes tend to formulate ideologies in order to win the support and allegiance of people. Ideology is a set of political ideas which express the views and preferences of a political party or group on different subjects such as the form of government, the nature of development etc. Though it is the duty of a ruling regime to put into practice its ideology, yet at the time of its formation, an ideology is meant not so much to be implemented in future as to win the support of people. Men are assumed to be rational calculators in most situations. They tend to base their decisions on rational calculations – the cost to be paid and the benefit expected. An ideology, being a strong emotional force, is likely to transcend this fact and make them temporarily forget their self-interest and become absorbed in the ideological movement. A ruling regime tries to make use of this emotive element of ideology and add legitimacy to its exercise of power. Hitler’s ideology, put in ‘Mein Kempf’, won the overwhelming support of Germans for himself as well as for his party -Nazi Party. As his popularity grew, he became more and more ambitious and irrational. His irredentism and aggressiveness invited havoc and disaster for his country, but CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

136 Political Science – I Germans, strongly attracted by Nazism, remained loyal to Hitler and his government until his death. Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, the Congress, the ruling party, pursued the goal of socialism through mixed economy. Most of the poor supported the government as they believed that it was trying to remove their poverty. It was not so much the performance of the Congress government as the ideology of the Congress Party which won so much support of people for the government. The emphasis of Mrs. Gandhi government on secularism and Garibi Hatao (remove poverty) made it popular and successful in elections. Ideology, if attractive and appealing, would lend legitimacy to a government. But the legitimacy of the government would be short-lived, if its attractive ideology is not accompanied by its good performance. How much attractive its ideology may be, the people would desert a government if its performance remains poor. 7.26 Legitimacy and Different Political Systems Different political systems have different ways of acquiring, legitimacy. In a democracy, the best method of acquiring legitimacy is winning elections. If a political party comes to power after getting majority support in a free election, that government is considered legitimate. In a democracy people are free to express their views and opinions, and even their criticisms of government. A government, even if freely elected, would lose its legitimacy if is the freedom of speech and expression is suppressed. Similarly, the legitimacy of a democratic government would be suspected if there are no conflicts at all. Difference of opinion, conflict, compromise and accommodation are parts of democratic life and no democracy would have legitimacy, if it is totally free from conflicts. If a conflict intensifies without being resolved on time, it would spell danger for the system. But a moderate state of conflict may be taken as a sign of a healthy democracy. Total absence of conflicts and too much of conflicts are both equally detrimental to a democracy. For some time a system may be totally free from conflicts under a dictatorial regime. But, in the long run, this would spell disaster for the system. Free play of ideas and opinions is an integral part of a democratic system. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 137 To Marxists, a bourgeois government is not legitimate because it represents only the interests of bourgeoisie who are exploiters of the proletariat. It is only the worker who produces; therefore, only that government which represents the workers is legitimate. Marx considered the dictatorship of the proletariat legitimate. Marxists regard legitimate because these socialist states as leg states are believed another exploitation of one class. Marxists contend that the source of legitimacy of a government is its class character. The Marxian view of legitimacy was challenged by Max Weber. According to Weber, legitimacy may be derived from three sources, namely, rational-legal, traditional and charismatic. An authority is legitimate if it is based on well-established traditions or if the authority structure is led by a charismatic personality. Weber further says that an authority has also legitimacy if it has legal sanction and if it pursues a rational approach relying on laws, rules and regulations. As an alternative to the Marxist view, the elite theorists like Mosca and Pareto argued that a government, formed by elites is legitimate because elites are men of superior virtues and qualities. 7.27 Crisis of Legitimacy According to Lipset, “a crisis of legitimacy is a crisis of change. Therefore, its roots must be sought in the character of change in Modern society.” Any type of important change. In the system is likely to impact on the legitimacy of the government. If a major social or political group is not properly represented in the government or if its legitimate interests are ignored by the government, there is a danger to the legitimacy of the government. Because of modernisation/development, different kinds of social change take place causing decline of old groups and giving rise to new ones. These new groups have the potential to strengthen a government or weaken it. If the government does not pay due attention to them, it may face a crisis of legitimacy. A crisis of legitimacy occurs when any powerful old group and/or any rising new group is ignored by the government. A transitional society is more prone to suffer a crisis of legitimacy because there is great uncertainty about the rise and fall of social/political groups in it. Further, a crisis of legitimacy may result from the repeated or prolonged breakdown of effectiveness. A system may be legitimate, but if its effectiveness suffers considerable erosion CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

138 Political Science – I over and over again or for a prolonged period, its legitimacy is almost sure to collapse, it would be pertinent to quote Lipset: In general, even when the political system is reasonably effective, if at any time the status of major conservative groups is threatened, or if access to politics is denied to emerging groups at crucial periods, the system’s legitimacy will remain in question. On the other hand, a breakdown of effectiveness, repeatedly or for a long period, will endanger even a legitimate system’s stability. 7.28 Summary The concept of power is one of the most vital concepts figuring in Political Science. Politics or Political Science is mainly concerned with the capture and exercise of power. The Elite theory asserts that, political power is unevenly distributed in society and it resides with a few. So there is a government of the elites sprung from the people. This theory confirms about the natural inequality of mankind. The ruling class in always an elite and it is conscious, cohesive and consipratoral. Political power is unevenly distributed in a society and the elites associated with decision-making are always a few in number. Power is found to be invariably associated with authority. In political sphere power is not divorced from authority. It is authority with power. So authority is a special kind of power, In other words, power when legitimised, gives rise to authority. “Authority is the faculty of inducing assent”. Thus, authority is power plus legitimacy. 7.29 Key Words/Abbreviations  Coercive: Using force or threats  Authority: Right to give order  Legitimacy: Right to rule  Charismatic: Exercising a compelling charm which inspires devotion of others CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 139 7.30 Learning Activity 1. “Power is an ability to influence behaviour of others.” Justify the statement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. “Legitimate power is called authority”. Prove it by analysing the relationship between power, authority and legitimacy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. “Authority is power plus legitimacy”. Prove it by analysers the relationship between power, authority and legitimacy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.31 Unit End Questions (MCQ and Descriptive) A. Descriptive Types Questions 1. Discuss the Marxist theory of political power. 2. Discuss Elite Theory of power. 3. “Elite’s are not Permanent.” Explain. 4. Explain the theories of Political Power. 5. Define Authority. Discuss different characteristics and dimensions of Authority. 6. Define Authority and discuss various kinds of Authority. 7. Define Legitimacy and discuss its types. 8. What are the bases of power? 9. What do you mean by legitimate power? 10. What are the essence of Elite theories of power? CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

140 Political Science – I 11. What are the essence of Marxist theory of power? 12. What do you mean by authority? 13. What is charismatic authority? 14. What is legitimacy? 15. What are the characteristics of authority? 16. What is rational legal authority? B. Multiple Choice/Objective Type Questions 1. The ability to influence the behaviour of others in accordance with its own ends is known as __________. (a) Legitimacy (b) Power (c) Authority (d) Non of these 2. The book ‘Bases of Social Power’ is written by __________. (a) Robert Dahl (b) John Austin (c) French, Jr. and B. Raven (d) Laski 3. In Modern Political Analysis _________ has discussed four different means of detecting power-relations. (a) Mosca (b) Robert Dahl (c) Pareto (d) Burnham 4. __________ among the following is not a supporter of elite theories of power. (a) Pareto (b) Mosca (c) Robert Michels (d) Karl Marx 5. The book ‘The Ruling Class’ is written by __________. (a) Mosca (b) Pareto (c) Burnham (d) Michels CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Power, Authority and Legitimacy 141 6. The book ‘The Managerial Revolution’ is written by __________. (a) Burnham (b) Mosca (c) Karl Marx (d) Pareto 7. __________ said “Legitimate power is often called as authority.” (a) Lasswell (b) Maclver (c) Robert Dahl (d) Pareto 8. When people obey an authority as a matter of habit is known as __________ authority (a) Rational legal (b) Charismatic (c) Traditional (d) All the above Answers 1. (b), 2. (c), 3. (b), 4. (d), 5. (a), 6. (a), 7. (c), 8. (c) 7.32 References 1. Robart A. Dahl, ‘The Concept of Power’, 1962. 2. Robart A. Dhal, ‘Modern Political Analysis’, 1965. 3. Max Weber, The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation. 4. A.K. Mukhopadhyay, ‘Political Sociology: An Introductory Analysis’, 1987. 5. Harry M. Johnson, Sociology: A Systematic Introduction, 1983. 6. David Bectham, Max Weber and the Theory of Modern Politics, 1974. 7. Talcott Parsons, “Suggestions for a Sociological Approach to Theory of Organisations”, 1969. 8. F.M. Marx, The Administrative State: Introduction to Bureaucracy, 1957. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

142 Political Science – I UNIT 8 SOVEREIGNTY Structure: 8.0 Learning Objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Meaning and Definitions 8.3 Characteristics or Features 8.4 Types of Sovereignty 8.5 Monism or Monistic Theory of Sovereignty 8.6 Pluralism or Pluralistic Theory of Sovereignty 8.7 Monism Vs. Pluralism 8.8 Summary 8.9 Key Words/Abbreviations 8.10 Learning Activity 8.11 Unit End Questions (MCQ and Descriptive) 8.12 References 8.0 Learning Objectives Sovereignty is the most essential attribute of the state which differentiate it from all other associations. Sovereignty makes the state internally supreme and externally independent. There are two diametrically opposite views relating to state sovereignty namely, Monism and Pluralism. This chapter devotes discussion on sovereignty, its characteristics, types, Monism and Pluralism. After studying this unit, you will be able to :  Explain the meaning of Sovereignty. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Sovereignty 143  Describe the characteristics or features of Sovereignty  Discuss the types of Sovereignty.  Explain the Monistic Theory of Sovereignty or Monism  Explain the Pluralistic Theory of Sovereignty pr Pluralism  Elaborate a comparison between Monism and Pluralism 8.1 Introduction Sovereignty is the most important and exclusive element of the state. Due to possession of sovereignty, state differs from all other associations. The term ‘sovereignty’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Superanus’ which means supreme. Thus, sovereignty means supreme power of the state. Sovereignty has two dimensions i.e. internal sovereignty and external sovereignty. Sovereignty makes state internally supreme and externally independent. Absoluteness, universality, inalienability, permanence, indivisibility, exclusiveness and imprescriptibility are the main characteristics of sovereignty. As the term sovereignty is used in different senses, so it is of various types such as: (i) Titular and Real, (ii) Legal or Political, (iii) Popular and National, (iv) De Facto and De Jure, and (v) Internal and external. There are two diametrically opposite views relating to state sovereignty. The first view known as ‘Monism’ is a classical defence of the determinate, absolute and indivisible character of state sovereignty which the second known as ‘Pluralism’ is an eloquent protest against the first and stresses the limited nature of state sovereignty which must be shared between the state and host of other associations. 8.2 Meaning and Definitions The term ‘Sovereignty’ is derived from the Latin word ‘superanus’, which means paramount or supreme. Sovereignty, a juristic concept as used in connection with the state, indicates supreme, final or ultimate power in the internal and external spheres. Certain writers speak of two faces of sovereignty: one for internal affairs, and the other for external affairs. The usage of the term sovereign arose with the emergence of the modern nation state. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

144 Political Science – I We may refer here to see important definitions. Jean Bodin (1530-96) says that ‘‘sovereignty is the supreme power over citizens and subjects unrestrained by law.” Blackstone says that “sovereignty is the supreme irresistible, absolute, uncontrolled authority in which the supreme legal powers reside.” According to Hugo Grotius, “sovereignty is the supreme political power vested in him whose acts are not subject to any other and whose will cannot be overidden.” Jellinek describes “sovereignty as that characteristic of the state in virtue of which it can not be legally bound except by its own will or limited by any other power than itself.” In the words of the American writer Burgess, “sovereignty is original absolute, unlimited power over the individual subject and over all associations of subjects.” W.F. Willoughby says that “sovereignty is the supreme will of the state.” 8.3 Characteristics or Features of Sovereignty Sovereignty has the following characteristics. The traditional attributes of sovereignty are absoluteness, permanence, universality, inalienability, exclusiveness and indivisibility: (a) Absoluteness: The sovereignty of the state is absolute. It recognises no limit. Inside the state there cannot be any power superior to sovereign power. The supremacy of the sovereign cannot be challenged. It is subject to no legal limitations, rather externally. (b) Permanence: Sovereignty is the permanent feature of the state. It continues uninterrupted as long as the state exists. Change in Government do not mean cessation of sovereignty. Government come and go, but the state endures and so its sovereignty. Sovereignty does not cease with the death of temporary dispossession of a particular bearer. When sovereignty is ended, it means the state itself has come to an end. (c) Universality: Sovereignty is universal in character. It is all comprehensive. It extends to all persons and associations within its territorial limits. The command of the sovereign CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)