What Makes a Government Legitimate?

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 122

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This is a trick question: What makes a government legitimate? Most of us will immediately reach out to the democratic answer that the legitimacy of a government is granted by the consent of the people in some form of majority rule. But, if a mechanical voting procedure is the answer, then most governments are illegitimate. According to the 2016 Democracy Index of The Economist Intelligence Unit, only 19 countries, out of the 167 studied, can be considered as fully democratic. It is also important to remember that Adolf Hitler and other despots have received vote majorities. Moreover, if the consent of the people is the determinant of a government’s legitimacy, this begs policy questions such as: Should we be doing business, or having diplomatic relations with illegitimate governments? Or more philosophically fundamental: Is democracy required for a government to be legitimate? Here I will tackle only the core normative question: What makes a government legitimate? To be clear, the question is not about a government’s authority. Despotic governments exercise authority without being legitimate. The modern “consent of the governed” theory for the legitimacy of government begins with British philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) who argued in his Second Treatise that no government is legitimate unless it is carried out with the consent of the governed, and that consent can only be rendered through majority rule. Therefore, if a government violates fundamental rights, Locke was particularly concerned with the rights to property, the people are entitled to replace the government. Less than a century later, Locke’s views were reiterated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. A much older source of government legitimacy is the divine right of kings; a mandate where heaven grants a ruler the right to rule, as in dynasties or monarchies. The monarchy of the House of Saud, which has ruled Saudi Arabia since the 18thcentury, is a contemporary example. The utilitarian concept of “beneficial consequences” is another philosophy used to legitimize a government; in this case, on the basis of utility.  In the “beneficial consequences”   view, the legitimacy of a government hinges on whether it foments the happiness of the citizenry. The undemocratic rule of Chilean General Augusto Pinochet is often offered as an example of the “beneficial consequences” argument. Pinochet assumed power in a coup d’état that overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende. Pinochet’s military government implemented economic liberalization policies that produced what has been described as the "Miracle of Chile" where the country was, for most of the 1990s, the best-performing economy in Latin America. Under this theory, a good outcome, however defined, forms the basis of legitimacy, and democracy is not required for political legitimacy. Another proposed source of a government’s legitimacy is rule by virtue or charisma.  In Confucianism’s system of moral hierarchy, the emperor is supposed to be the most virtuous man on earth.  In Plato’s account, reason and knowledge constitute the basis for claims to political legitimacy, and only philosophers should govern due to their capacity for reasoned understanding. Communist states, unable to legitimize their rule on “consent of the governed,” have creatively insisted that their governments’ legitimacy flows from the logic of Marxist ideology. Doctrine is the communist source of legitimacy, making consent of the governed unnecessary. It is a mode of circular thinking where the government legitimizes the government. Legitimacy is vital to justify a government’s use of coercive powers, and to create our agreement to obey.  Without legitimacy, government exercises power unjustifiably and there is no duty to obey. Only legitimate authority creates an obligation to obey. Legitimacy should be independent of political doctrine, divine right, charisma, virtue, or consequences. The question of regime legitimacy turns, not necessarily on any of the above, but on whether the regime protects our natural rights. A government’s role is to create and maintain a rights-respecting society. A government that does not protect our rights is illegitimate.  The only legitimate government is one that protects our individual rights; including our right to give consent to be governed.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) This article was originally published in English in the Miami Herald and in Spanish in El Nuevo Herald.   José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere. He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Formerly, a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary. They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now   Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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