The Normative Element of Legitimacy

Brandon L. Bartels and Chris W. Bonneau, eds. 2015. Making Law and Courts Research Relevant. New York: Routledge.

20 Pages Posted: 10 Dec 2014 Last revised: 18 Dec 2014

See all articles by David Klein

David Klein

Eastern Michigan University

Date Written: May 1, 2014

Abstract

The most successful and influential research on attitudes toward courts has equated legitimacy with institutional loyalty. While agreeing that this move has facilitated considerable progress in empirical research, I argue that it misses a crucial element of legitimacy and advocate renewed attention to that element -- the sense that legitimacy entails obligations on the part of people toward governing institutions that they recognize as legitimate.

Keywords: legitimacy, courts, judges, diffuse support, institutional loyalty, normative, obligations

Suggested Citation

Klein, David, The Normative Element of Legitimacy (May 1, 2014). Brandon L. Bartels and Chris W. Bonneau, eds. 2015. Making Law and Courts Research Relevant. New York: Routledge., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535855

David Klein (Contact Author)

Eastern Michigan University ( email )

Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
United States

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