David Beetham - The Legitimation of Power (Political Analysis)

Series Editors: B. Guy Peters, Jon Pierre and Gerry Stoker

Political science today is a dynamic discipline. Its substance, theory and methods have all changed radically in recent decades. It is much expanded in range and scope and in the variety of new perspectives and new variants of old ones that it encompasses. The sheer volume of work being published, and the increasing degree of its specialization, however, make it difficult for political scientists to maintain a clear grasp of the state of debate beyond their own particular subdisciplines.

The Political Analysis series is intended to provide a channel for different parts of the discipline to talk to one another and to new generations of students. Our aim is to publish books that provide introductions to, and exemplars of, the best work in various areas of the discipline. Written in an accessible style, they provide a launching-pad for students and others seeking a clear grasp of the key methodological, theoretical and empirical issues, and the main areas of debate, in the complex and fragmented world of political science.

A particular priority is to facilitate intellectual exchange between academic communities in different parts of the world. Although frequently addressing the same intellectual issues, research agendas and literatures in North America, Europe and elsewhere have often tended to develop in relative isolation from one another. This series is designed to provide a framework for dialogue and debate which, rather than advocacy of one regional approach or another, is the key to progress.

The series reflects our view that the core values of political science should be coherent and logically constructed theory, matched by carefully constructed and exhaustive empirical investigation. The key challenge is to ensure quality and integrity in what is produced rather than to constrain diversity in methods and approaches. The series is intended as a showcase for the best of political science in all its variety, and demonstrates how nurturing that variety can further improve the discipline.

Political Analysis Series
Series Standing Order ISBN 9780333786949 (hardback)
Series Standing Order ISBN 9780333945063 (paperback)
(outside North America only)

You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in the case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above.

Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS, UK

Series Editors: B. Guy Peters, Jon Pierre and Gerry Stoker

Published

David Beetham

The Legitimation of Power (2nd edition)

Peter Burnham, Karin Gilland Lutz, Wyn Grant and Zig Layton-Henry

Research Methods in Politics (2nd edition)

Lina Eriksson

Rational Choice Theory: Potential and Limits

Jean Grugel and Matthew Louis Bishop

Democratization: A Critical Introduction (2nd edition)

Colin Hay

Political Analysis

Colin Hay, Michael Lister and David Marsh (editors)

The State: Theories and Issues

Andrew Hindmoor

Rational Choice

Vivien Lowndes and Mark Roberts

Why Institutions Matter

David Marsh and Gerry Stoker (editors)

Theory and Methods in Political Science (3rd edition)

Ioannis Papadopoulos

Democracy in Crisis? Politics, Governance and Policy

Jon Pierre and B. Guy Peters

Governance, Politics and the State

B. Guy Peters

Strategies for Comparative Research in Political Science

Heather Savigny and Lee Marsden

Doing Political Science and International Relations

Rudra Sil and Peter J. Katzenstein

Beyond Paradigms: Analytic Eclecticism in the Study of World Politics

Martin J. Smith

Power and the State

Cees van der Eijk and Mark Franklin

Elections and Voters

Forthcoming

Keith Dowding

The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science

Alan Finlayson and James Martin

Interpretive Political Analysis: A Critical Introduction

Colin Hay

Globalization and the State

Johanna Kantola and Emanuela Lombardo

Gender and Political Analysis

William Maloney and Jan van Deth

Political Participation and Democratic Politics

David Marsh

Political Behaviour

Karen Mossberger and Mark Cassell

The Policy Process: Ideas, Interests and Institutions

Gerry Stoker, B. Guy Peters and Jon Pierre (editors)

The Relevance of Political Science

Dimiter Toshkov

Research Design in Political Science

The Legitimation of Power

2nd Edition

David Beetham

David Beetham 1991, 2013

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First edition 1991

Second edition published 2013 by

PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.

Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martins Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.

Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries

ISBN: 9780230279728 (hardback)

ISBN: 9780230279735 (paperback)

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

Since this book was first published it has become widely used as a reference for the study of legitimacy, both of authority systems in general and of political authority in particular. At the same time the study of legitimacy has moved into new fields which were hardly developed when it was written into research on criminal justice and international institutions, for example while the comparative analysis of states legitimacy has achieved a new level of sophistication and empirical validation. Much has also changed in the world of politics and political systems since 1991.