legitimacy crisis
Governance trust collapse
A legitimacy crisis occurs when an institution, government, or authority loses the public's belief in its right to rule or make decisions.
The term appears in political science and sociology to describe situations where citizens no longer accept the system as valid or just: The disputed election triggered a legitimacy crisis.
Such crises may arise from corruption, failed policies, or perceived unfairness, and can destabilize regimes that once seemed secure.
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- ruling eliteDominant governing class
- civil unrestPublic disturbance by citizens
- economic inequalityUneven distribution of resources
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
regime change · power vacuum · failed state · financial instability · civic engagement · political accountability · grassroots movements · moral decay · austerity measures · populism · collective action · electoral fraud · voter suppression · polarization · wealth disparity · social cohesion · protest movements · delegitimization
- political turmoilpolitical instability, power vacuum, coup d'etat, military coup, uprising
- royal successionthrone, succession, line of succession, order of succession, succession line
- succession crisessuccession dispute, disputed succession, succession war, war of succession, disputed claim
- Charles VIIDauphin, Joan of Arc, Hundred Years War, Orleans, reconquest
legitimacy crisispolitical stability
Enduring, predictable state authority
political order · legitimate authority · constitutional order
legitimacy crisispublic trust
Faith in institutions
civic trust · consent of the governed · social contract · electoral mandate · goodwill
legitimacy crisisgood governance
Accountable, transparent institutional management
legitimacy, crisis, legitimate, legitimately, legitimize, legitimization, legitimise, legitimisation, illegitimate