This course investigates one of the central questions of political theory: what makes power legitimate? It explores the normative foundations of political authority, the conditions under which obedience is justified, and the processes through which legitimacy is created, maintained, and contested. Students will engage with conceptual, normative, and empirical debates that illuminate legitimacy not only as a set of abstract principles but also as a dynamic social practice. By combining canonical theory with contemporary analyses of democratic crisis, populism, and authoritarian resurgence, the course will push students to critically assess the moral and political grounds of power in the 21st century.
It is divided into three thematic units.
Unit 1: Foundations of legitimate power
Students will engage with classical and contemporary thinkers (Hobbes and Rousseau specifically) to examine the basic frameworks and foundations of different, competing bases of legitimacy.
Unit 2: Democratic legitimations
Focusing on specifically democratic legitimacy, the students will work with contemporary texts that propose different justifications and foundations of democratic power.
Unit 3: Legitimation and delegitimation in practice
This unit will focus on legitimacy (or lack thereof) in contemporary democratic and autocratic regimes from a more social-political perspective. David Beetham’s The Legitimation of Power and contemporary accounts of democratic backsliding will provide a backbone for normative analyses of practical cases of legitimacy and delegitimation.
- Instructor: Matej Cibik