Document Type

Article

Disciplines

5.4 SOCIOLOGY, 5.6 POLITICAL SCIENCE

Publication Details

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13684310231184600

Dolan, P., Vertigans, S., & Connolly, J. (2024). Theorising political legitimisation: From stasis to processes. European Journal of Social Theory, 27(1), 22-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231184600

Abstract

Legitimacy remains a key concept in political sociology, and perhaps even more so in lay understandings of political processes and structures, as evidenced by conflict over territories and regimes around the world. However, the concept suffers from a rather static representation, and even when addressed in processual form, in terms of specific moments in the process, such as conditions favouring legitimacy or its effects. Building from an Eliasian perspective, we argue for a more processual concept of legitimisation to encompass the dynamic social networks (figurations) that constitute the more unintentional context for deliberate legitimation claims. As networks expand and intensify, processes of legitimisation incorporate changing and more diverse bases for legitimacy claims, as well as a greater variety of such claims and counterclaims. As the power relations between contending groups change, legitimation practices become part of the integrating functions of the state, shaping figurations and the social habitus.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231184600

Funder

This research received no external funding

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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