LEGITIMACY OF STATE

Today, the expression of legitimacy is mainly through representation. As such, it is essential for the political elite to maintain its sovereignty (Bolton, 34, 2017). By looking at it from this perspective, there is justification for every delegated representative democracy. The present-day democracy relies on the legitimacy of the laws put in place. However, to understand the definition of legitimacy, there are two models: the first one is the normal way of viewing legitimacy regarding people’s sovereignty. This theory follows the need to pay attention to social welfare. The most common expression of public interest takes place with things such as referendum and petition.

In the modern-day world politics, the exercise of power is not just by giving the citizens sovereign freedom, but also common consensus. The social contract of Rosseau called for the sovereignty of the people and paved the way for legitimacy (Spike, 3, 2000). It is a way to delegate power to the people, and this explains the model of legitimacy. Because such delegation cannot reach the people, it implies that there is direct power of decision. Therefore, democratic legitimacy is like a lens through which the government sees the will of the citizens. 

According to Arendt, (56, 2005) the exercise of power directly influences the people. The court may create a so-called judicial review and determine if the exercise of public power should be present when considering specific laws (Spike, 3, 2000). This applies to every level of the government as well as administration. This move by the court is necessary and also a product of years of constitutional struggle to keep the kings and other leaders from abusing power. The central provision of the rule of law is an essential principle of the constitution as well as liberal democracy as well (Hooks, 11, 1994). It is important to note that the regular courts apply and enforce all public power. The head of the judiciary is the principal guardian of the rule of law.

As the power of public authorities continues to increase over the years, the judicial is also expanding to accommodate the will of the people (Collins, 442, 2012). There are laws in a place whose aim is to correspond with the needs of the citizens to create sovereignty. As such, anything away from that makes it hard for people to exercise their democratic rights.  There are thousands of cases together with libraries of commentaries. The judiciary, as a branch of law, often faces a lot of controversial issues especially when it is about dismantling the work of an elected body. Most controversies are usually about how rigors the courts should be.

In order for the courts not to appear as arbitrary, they are continually developing and well as creating principles that house the will of the people. Therefore, as the political arena continues to advance and take new forms, it is essential to refine the general principles of judicial review. In regards to the current state of those principles, the elements of the government decision-making stem from judicial revision (Plato, 51, 2007). This implies that the government does not have the free will to change the law without a referendum. The referendum is the voice of the people in a place where democracy is the central principle for the rule of law. 

However, at times the original motivation for holding a referendum may not appear as though it is to protect the interest of a party but an in-depth look into the arrangement shows that it is for the sake of the public. According to Laswell (21, 1958), the referendum is essential in cases that relate to the local authorizes and cases where the public power use the law to protect them. Take, for instance; there are decisions that the parliament makes to favor some political elite which will create a dictatorship state. It is worth noting, that would be challenging to have a referendum act that will not be for the interest of the people. A state without a space for referendum encourages problems in the general constitutional law. The referendum is important as gives the citizens an opportunity to express themselves. On another hand, it provides the parliament with to involve the public in legislation.

The courts are important in decision making concerning the referendum because in most cases, it is a body that considers public decisions. They are there to do away with shaky policies that can cause distrust among the public. The rule of law should avoid the view that decisions made have flaws. It has to reflect that the limits of power of the political elite among the public. As such the judiciary should have a devotion to finding workable formulas that indicate the need for a referendum without provoking a negative reaction from the audience (Wolin, 11, 1994). The court should be able to reflect the concerns of the public to act arbitrarily. 

To get a clear picture of the concept of legitimacy, it is important to separate between the idea and various conceptions of legitimacy. The question of understanding stems from conditions as well as the criteria in which it is enough to use this term. To demonstrate the difference, it means that the judiciary should be transparent in processes such as referendum. The demonstration of this legitimacy shows that the government is ready to exercise democracy. It is essential that the people feel like their right to voice out their interest is critical. Otherwise, a referendum that favors political interest is an indication that the system is not fair.

In conclusion, this paper argues the need to strive to create more realistic ways of implementing political legitimacy. Political institutions should pay attention to the need for providing an arena for the citizens to contribute to policy making. It is because most of these issues tend to affect the people who are the majority. The most realistic way of creating this legitimacy is accountable. Accountability stems from a fair approach such as looking at how the laws will affect the people and how they consider an ethical approach (Laswell, 43, 1958 ). Various studies suggest a normative-practical approach to referendum allows for legitimacy. The paper also emphasizes the need to analyze the legitimacy beliefs based on the views of the public. Regarding being sociological, the dynamic normative structure of legitimacy is all about avoiding a situation where the political elite can abuse power. If such happens, the court can uphold such decisions. As such, there are different kinds of objects that shed light on the need for legitimacy. For instance, acts, beliefs, as well as processes that the normative in the society. Therefore, legitimacy is crucial for the social, economic and political development of a state.

Reference List

Arendt, Hannah, “Introduction into Politics,” in The Promise of Politics (New York: Schocken 

Books, 2005).

Bolton, Matthew. How to Resist: Turn Protest to Power (London: Bloomsbury, 2017). 

Collins, Patricia Hill. “Social Inequality, Power, and Politics: Intersectionality and American 

Pragmatism in Dialogue,” The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Volume 26, Number 2 (2012), pp. 442-457.

Hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress (Routledge: New York, 1994), chapters 1 and 3.

Lasswell, Harold. Politics: Who Gets What, When, How. (Cleveland, OH: World Publishing 

Company, 1958). (http://www.policysciences.org/classics/politics.pdf).  

Orwell, George. “The Spike” in Essays (London: Penguin, 2000). (http://www.george- orwell.org/The_Spike/0.html)  

Plato. The Republic of Plato. Translated by H. D. P. Lee. 2nd ed. (London: Penguin, 2007)

Wolin, Sheldon. “Fugitive Democracy.” Constellations Vol. 1, no. 1 (1994): 11-25.