The Legitimacy of Political Authority. On the Relevance of the “Consent to be Governed”
The Legitimacy of Political Authority. On the Relevance of the “Consent to be Governed”

Summary/Abstract: In this paper I will question the implications of consent-based explanations and justifications of political authority. My claim is that in understanding the concepts of authority and political authority, as well as the normative dimension of their legiti­macy, we are better off operating with a concept of legitimacy that does not reduce the justificatory endeavor to the specification of the appropriate determinations and circumstances in which the expression of consent is valid. I suggest that a wider con­cept of legitimacy allows for a more appropriate understanding of the specific dimen­sion of the legitimating process.

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