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Difficulty: MediumLegitimacy: Meaning, Determinants, and Maintenance

A political regime that sustains its authority primarily through military coercion and the suppression of democratic processes possesses political legitimacy as long as it maintains public order.

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Answer

False. Political legitimacy requires voluntary acceptance and consent from citizens rather than obedience achieved through military force and coercion.
Political legitimacy rests on popular consent, constitutional rules, good governance, and democratic acceptance. Regimes that depend on military force and suppression lack this essential consent, even if they succeed in maintaining public order.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define political legitimacy
Legitimacy is the moral, legal, and constitutional right of a government to rule, recognized and accepted voluntarily by its citizens.
Understanding the definition helps distinguish legitimate authority from pure power.
2
Examine the role of military coercion and suppression
Coercion forces compliance through fear, whereas legitimacy relies on ideological alignment, free elections, accountability, and the rule of law.
Maintaining order through force represents de facto control (power) rather than de jure or moral authority (legitimacy).
3
Evaluate the statement
Because suppression and military coercion contradict the core requirement of popular consent, the claim that such a regime possesses legitimacy is false.
Coercion erodes legitimacy rather than establishing it.

Key Concept

Distinction between Coercive Power and Political Legitimacy
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Topics

Legitimacy: Meaning, Determinants, and Maintenance

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