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Difficulty: HardLegitimacy: Meaning, Determinants, and Maintenance

A political regime whose legitimacy rests exclusively on charismatic authority can maintain stable, long-term political continuity across executive transitions without institutionalizing or routinizing its authority into legal-rational or traditional structures.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is False. Charismatic authority is personal and transient, meaning long-term political stability and legitimacy maintenance require transforming (routinizing) that authority into legal-rational or traditional institutional structures.
Political legitimacy derived from charismatic authority is intrinsically tied to the personal traits and public appeal of a specific individual. Without converting this charisma into stable legal-rational rules or traditional succession mechanisms—a process known as routinization—the regime suffers severe legitimacy crises and political instability upon the leader's departure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define the nature of charismatic legitimacy within political typology.
Charismatic legitimacy relies on public devotion to the exceptional personal characteristics, vision, or heroism of an individual leader.
Establishing the foundational properties of charismatic authority according to political theory.
2
Evaluate the challenge of political succession in charismatic regimes.
Because charisma is attached to the individual rather than an established office, authority cannot automatically transfer to a new leader upon death or retirement.
Analyzing the factors that affect the durability and maintenance of political legitimacy.
3
Determine the necessary mechanism for sustained regime legitimacy.
The regime must undergo the 'routinization of charisma,' converting personal authority into legal-rational procedures (like constitutional elections) or traditional systems.
Identifying the structural requirements for long-term political survival and institutional stability.

Key Concept

Routinization of Charismatic Legitimacy
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Topics

Legitimacy: Meaning, Determinants, and Maintenance

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