At the heart of representative government is the question: "What makes government and its agents legitimate authorities?" The notion of consent, of a social con

At an unsettled time for liberal democracy, with global eruptions of authoritarian and arbitrary rule, here is one of the first full-fledged philosophical accou

Essays on the political, legal, and philosophical dimensions of political legitimacy Scholars, journalists, and politicians today worry that the world’s democ

What makes a government legitimate? Why do people voluntarily comply with laws, even when no one is watching? The idea of political legitimacy captures the fact

Voters expect their elected representatives to pursue good policy and presume this will be securely founded on the best available knowledge. Yet when representa